Bad News for Trump – You’ll be able to watch Donald Trump’s Georgia trial on YouTube: Some of former President Donald Trump’s upcoming trials, including the federal ones, will not be televised. But a judge said this week that the Georgia case will be available to stream on YouTube.
Bad News: Donald Trump May Not Want This Sort of Publicity
Whenever former President Donald Trump has an actual criminal trial, it’s been predicted that it will serve as the “trial of the century.” Previous trials of the century, most notably O.J. Simpson’s murder trial in the mid-1990s, have been shown on live television, creating numerous iconic moments.
In Trump’s case, following his four indictments this year, the question has been raised as to whether his criminal proceedings will be televised- ironically, for a former president notorious for his love of television.
The federal court system, by statute, does not allow cameras in the courtroom, so there will be no gavel-to-gavel television coverage of trials in Trump’s two federal cases, in which he is accused of mishandling documents and of scheming to overturn the 2020 election. New York also has a rule not allowing cameras in the courtroom, so the Manhattan case in which Trump is accused of falsifying documents will also not be on TV. In some recent related hearings, such as one on defendant Mark Meadows’ recent request to move his case to federal court, reports were not allowed to bring computers, cell phones, or cameras into the courtroom.
However, it appears those hoping to watch a Trump trial will get their wish, if and when the former president goes on trial in the Georgia case.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Judge Scott McAfee ruled this week that the Trump trial, and all related court proceedings, will in fact stream live on the Fulton County Court’s YouTube channel.
In addition, according to the newspaper, media members “would be allowed to use computers and cellphones inside the courtroom for non-recording purposes during court proceedings.” Media outlets will also be allowed to use “pool” cameras in the courtroom. News media, CNN reported, had requested the ability to cover the trial live, and neither prosecutors nor the defense objected.
Networks like CNN and Fox News have cameras that are presumably much higher quality and expensive than the setup available to a county court.
Per CNN, the ruling would not apply if any parts of the case are moved to federal court, as several defendants have requested.
When will the trial take place? That’s not clear. Last month, the judge in the case set a trial date of October 23 for all 19 defendants, a date that is now less than two months away. But there are numerous reasons to expect the trial to be delayed, starting with the requests by several defendants to sever their cases from the others, and those motions to move some of the cases to federal court.
It’s a large, complicated case with many defendants, and it also risks bumping up against the scheduled dates of Trump’s other criminal trials. And there is also the presidential primary calendar to consider, with Trump facing the possibility of spending weeks in court and weekends on the campaign trail for much of next spring.
“Respectfully, requiring less than two months preparation time to defend a 98-page indictment, charging 19 defendants, with 41 various charges including a RICO conspiracy charge with 161 Overt Acts, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, False Statements and Writings, Forgery, Influencing Witnesses, Computer Crimes, Conspiracy to Defraud the State, and other offenses would violate President Trump’s federal and state constitutional rights to a fair trial and due process of law,” Trump attorney Steven Sadow said in a filing this week.
Another high-profile RICO case in the Fulton County courts, involving the rapper Young Thug and more than two dozen other defendants, has been moving very slowly, with jury selection dragging on for nearly nine months. That case stems from arrests more than a year ago, in May of 2022.
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Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Stephen has authored thousands of articles over the years that focus on politics, technology, and the economy for over a decade. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
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