Donald Trump indicted: Lawyers argue courtroom cameras would ‘create a circus’
Kaelan Deese
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Attorneys for former President Donald Trump urged a judge to deny a request by media outlets for cameras in the Manhattan courtroom where Trump is slated to be arraigned on criminal charges Tuesday afternoon.
“We submit that the media request should be denied because it will create a circus-like atmosphere at the arraignment, raise unique security concerns, and is inconsistent with President Trump’s presumption of innocence,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a letter to Judge Juan Merchan, several media outlets reported. The Empire State barred cameras and broadcasts inside the courtroom in most proceedings since the 1930s.
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The letter emerged shortly after Trump made public that he was en route to New York City for his first courtroom appearance since his Thursday indictment by a grand jury on charges related to his then-lawyer’s $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
Media outlets cited that Trump would be the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges as part of their request to bring still and motion cameras, along with radio recording devices, into the courtroom on Tuesday.
Trump attorney Joe Tacopina told the Washington Examiner that “we oppose” any effort for cameras in the courthouse.
Meanwhile, the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, which is prosecuting Trump, issued its own letter to the judge Monday that did not take a position on whether cameras should be in the courtroom. The letter was written by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo and noted “even if cameras are not categorically barred,” judges have the discretion to “control the conduct of judicial proceedings.”
“It would thus be a defensible exercise of the Court’s discretion to exclude or restrict videography, photography, and radio coverage of the arraignment in the interest of avoiding potential prejudice to the defendant, maintaining an orderly proceeding, assuring the safety of the participants in the proceeding, or for other reasons within the Court’s broad authority to manage and control these proceedings,” the letter said.
However, Colangelo also mentioned that Merchan recently permitted still images to be taken in his courtroom before the commencement of proceedings in the criminal prosecution of the Trump Organization. In that case, Trump’s company was convicted in a scheme to avoid tax payments on compensation to executives.
Former Manhattan federal prosecutor Sarah Krissoff of Day Pitney LLP told the Washington Examiner she did not believe Merchan would allow cameras in the courtroom on the day of Trump’s arraignment, saying, “I think it is important for the judge to treat this case as he would any other, despite the notoriety of the defendant.”
Meanwhile, some Democrats in the Empire State have pushed to pass legislation that changes the state’s law barring cameras in the courtroom.
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The streets outside the courthouse will be inundated with cameras from a variety of news outlets, and as many as 50 to 60 members of the press will be inside the courthouse. Trump will likely enter the building through the back but could decide to exit through the front doors, sources told Fox News.
Trump is expected to arrive at the courthouse at 11 a.m. ahead of his 2:15 p.m. arraignment. The proceedings could take 15 to 30 minutes but might experience delays for security reasons and if Trump uses his initial court appearance to contest the indictment, according to Krissoff.