Trump’s criminal court proceedings must be televised

The once unthinkable has now happened. A former president of the United States was indicted on criminal charges in New York City. The Justice Department and Georgia prosecutors are investigating at least three other cases that could also lead to prosecutions.

Now, it’s time for another once unthinkable development: The Trump criminal court proceedings must be televised.

Currently, video and audio coverage of trials in New York City Criminal Court, where he being arraigned Tuesday, and in New York City Supreme Court, where any trial would almost certainly take place are rarely, if ever, allowed.

Permission must be granted in this historic case.

Should the Fulton County, Georgia, investigation into the former president lead to an indictment and court proceedings, Georgia rules do allow for video, audio and livestreaming, as they should.

Unfortunately, however, video coverage of virtually all federal court proceedings is prohibited. Federal and local grand jury proceedings — at which citizens work with prosecutors to determine whether criminal charges are warranted — are private, and I am not advocating they be conducted otherwise.

Every other hearing, trial or other proceeding involving former President Donald Trump should be held in the open, broadcast and streamed live. Period.

Audio of U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments is livestreamed, or at least recordings are released on a same-day basis — and have been since December 2000 when my organization, the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), compelled then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist to do so in Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board, the case that decided the outcome of that year’s presidential election.

That was unprecedented. And it showed that Supreme Court justices, when they understand the overwhelming historical implications of a high-profile case, must be fully transparent.

In any such case, Americans and people around the world have a clear need to see for themselves how justice is administered. They need to hear directly from the judge, prosecutors, defense attorneys and witnesses. They need to see the evidence shown to the jury. They need to see and hear the verdict rendered at the same moment it is delivered.

For decades, because of arcane and arbitrary rules, the public’s access to federal court proceedings has been limited to seeing sketch artist depictions and hearing verbal descriptions from journalists and legal analysts.

While those artists and journalists have by and large done a remarkable job of accurately conveying the essence of what occurred in court, the public has not been able to determine, using their own eyes and ears, the full context of what happened.

Drawings and summaries would not be nearly enough in such highly consequential cases.

On July 20, 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland, when asked about Department of Justice criminal investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, was clear and unequivocal stating, “No person is above the law in this country.”

His statement was in response to questions about whether a former president could face federal criminal charges for any crimes he may have committed.

Trump’s name was not mentioned at that time, but it was clear — since Garland was addressing questions directly related to Jan. 6 — that he was referring to Trump’s alleged role in encouraging, enabling and planning the insurrection, and then failing for more than three hours to attempt to stop it.

We learned some of the vivid details of the alleged misconduct and negligence in the July 21 primetime hearing of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

Already, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has prosecuted more than 1,000 people in connection to the Jan. 6 attack. Still to come, however, are decisions on whether to bring criminal charges against Trump in the violent effort to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election.

Let me be unequivocally clear: If Trump is charged with federal crimes, his trials and other available court proceedings must be broadcast live to the American people.

In any such case, Americans and people around the world have a clear need to see for themselves how justice is administered. They need to hear directly from the judge, prosecutors, defense attorneys and witnesses. They need to see the evidence shown to the jury. They need to see and hear the verdict rendered at the same moment it is delivered.

Garland also stated on July 20, 2022, of the DOJ’s Jan. 6 probe, “This has been the most wide-ranging investigation and the most important investigation that the Justice Department has ever entered into. And we have done so because this represents – this effort to upend a legitimate election, transferring power from one administration to another, cuts at the fundamentals of American democracy. We have to get this right.”

He added., “And for people who are concerned, as I think every American should be, about protecting democracy, we have to do two things: We have to hold accountable every person who is criminally responsible for trying to overturn a legitimate election, and we must do it in a way filled with integrity and professionalism.” 

I agree. But I also believe firmly that in order to “get this right,” and get right the investigation into classified documents seized at Mar-a-Lago, the American people must be granted unfiltered courtroom access.

They must see — live and in living color — any Trump court proceedings in what Garland rightly describe as the most important investigation that the Justice Department “has ever entered into.”

Dan Shelley is the president and CEO of the Radio Television Digital News Association.