Media Coalition Argues That Constitution “Requires” Court To Allow Televised Coverage Of Donald Trump’s Criminal Trial
deadline.comA coalition of media organizations, including CNN, C-SPAN and The New York Times, says that the Constitution requires televised access to Donald Trump‘s upcoming criminal trial on federal conspiracy charges.
Responding to special counsel Jack Smith‘s opposition to televised proceedings, the coalition’s attorneys wrote in a filing today that “well-established that constitutional speech rights include the act of making audiovisual recordings,” citing past court precedent.
Smith had argued that the longstanding federal court Rule 53 clear prohibits “the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.” The media coalition‘s legal team wrote, “Of all trials conducted throughout American history, this one needs the public trust that only a televised proceeding can foster.
Because the Constitution allows—indeed requires—such access here, the Federal Rules cannot prohibit it.” Read the media coalition filing.
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