Shortly after the first day of Donald Trump’s historic criminal hush money trial began, observers observed the former president take an impromptu doze in the defense box, eyes closed, mouth slack, chin resting on his chest. I witnessed it.
There were no cameras in the Manhattan courtroom to record Trump’s April 15 nap. Viewers had to rely on the words of reporters who were watching the incident. Viewers and voters also heard an uplifting 2016 recording played in court on Thursday of Trump and his former fixer Michael Cohen chewing out a $150,000 price tag for a Playboy model’s silence. was not accepted.
None of this would have happened if Mr. Trump had been tried in camera-friendly Georgia, where he is facing charges of state election fraud. There, viewers were glued to a dramatic livestream hearing in February as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis struggled to defend herself against salacious conflict of interest allegations against Trump.
A born showman, Donald Trump found success in front of the cameras, especially during his 14-season run on the reality show The Apprentice.
But the strict limitations of American courtrooms, in which the judge runs the show and the defendant is usually a silent spectator, are another story.
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How the public views the 2024 Republican nominee, who faces four criminal charges ranging from New York to Palm Beach, could have a major impact on November’s election., But whether the televised trial will hurt or help the former president is an open question.
Now, many legal veterans say the lack of cameras in the lower Manhattan trial gives Trump an advantage: Details of this alleged affair with the famous businessman, supermarket tabloid A partnership with the National Enquirer paper, and yes, his mid-morning naps have all been turned into viral clips, GIFs, and memes that have escaped reversal.
“Think of the difference it will make to New York,” said Court TV founder Steven Brill. “President Trump goes out every day and continues to say that this case is baseless and that all the witnesses are liars.”
Brill said cameras in the courtroom allowed viewers to see the evidence for themselves, blunting “Trump’s interpretation.”
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Others don’t think the cameras will hurt Trump’s electoral prospects. Even the New York trial hinges on attempts by adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal to claim they slept with Trump and pay them ahead of the 2016 election. . .
“It’s going to help him a lot,” said George Arzt, a political consultant in New York. “He’s going to be directing his lawyers to more flamboyant rhetoric.” Ta. I think that would delay the trial. ”
No camera? “You’ll be shocked.”
If District Attorney Fani Willis’ election fraud case overcomes ongoing difficulties, the clearest picture of Trump’s status during the trial will likely be in the Atlanta courtroom. “If the media is interested in the Georgia case, they can put cameras there,” said former Atlanta prosecutor Chris Timmons.
President Trump is also fighting federal charges accusing him of election interference in Washington, D.C., and storing classified documents in Florida. Cameras are not allowed in federal trials, and transcripts are available only for a fee.
In Manhattan, a small group of photographers arrive each morning to help the jury arrive, where President Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels. The famous defendant is allowed to enter the courtroom for one minute before being photographed.
“New York clings to a very outdated tradition of not having cameras in courtrooms,” said Diana Florence, a former Manhattan prosecutor. “If I were a layman, I would be shocked that we can’t install cameras in every courtroom across the country.”
A patchwork of rules governing state and federal courts provides varying degrees of access to Trump’s many lawsuits. Last month, visitors to the Supreme Court’s website heard live arguments surrounding President Trump’s claim that he was immune from federal charges of illegally trying to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss. was completed.
But when a federal jury found President Trump civilly liable for defamation of former magazine reporter E. Jean Carroll earlier this year, no images or audio were available. There were also no video cameras in the courtroom during Trump’s New York civil fraud trial, which ended in a brutal $435.5 million verdict earlier this year.
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President Trump’s records available for free
In honor of the historic nature and tremendous public interest in the hush money trial, New York’s court system has agreed to release the first-ever prosecution record of a former president on a daily basis. Previously, daily records were only available at great cost, usually by law firms or news organizations.
The move “changes the way we think about transparency,” white-collar defense attorney Ann Cortina Perry told USA TODAY. “There’s a lot to uncover from the record.”
However, its transparency is less than in most parts of the country. More than 35 states routinely allow cameras in courtrooms. Georgia approved the installation of cameras in 2018 and California has allowed them since 1984, but New York is bucking the trend.
OJ example
Some experts say that’s partly because of the 1995 murder trial of Hollywood and NFL star O.J. Simpson in Los Angeles. Simpson’s trial was a divisive cultural test, with “a lot of dramatic developments that wouldn’t have happened without cameras in the courtroom,” Florence said.
“The defense just spouted stuff day in and day out that had no basis in fact,” said Marcia Clark, a prosecutor in the Simpson case. “It can be very harmful because it encourages lawyers to strut to the camera and say things that have no legal merit.”
“The presence of the cameras could have influenced the trial, the judge, the lawyers, the witnesses,” Carl Douglas, a member of Simpson’s defense team, told USA TODAY. Trial lawyer and camera. But the jury was sequestered. They were isolated from the maelstrom. ”
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After Simpson’s shocking acquittal, the sequestered jury was barred from reading about the case or watching television coverage during the eight-month trial, but the family will be able to visit weekly. He said that he heard that he knew the details of the report at the time.
Mr. Clark and Mr. Douglas both support the use of cameras and have been enemies in the past, but live broadcasts still encourage some witnesses to exaggerate their testimony and discourage those who don’t want to be in the spotlight. Agreed that it’s possible.
No one in the courtroom is immune to the effects of the cameras, both men said. “Some of these judges need to stand,” Clark said. “The effects will only continue.”
“I always rely on the idea that this is serious business, not entertainment,” he said. Christine Cornell, Courtroom Sketch Artist He has covered some of the largest criminal trials of the past 40 years, including hush money cases. “When it actually becomes public, lawyers tend to speak to a much larger audience. It becomes a different animal.”
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Fanny Willis gets burned by camera
During a February livestream hearing on Trump and other defendants’ efforts to dismiss a Georgia election conspiracy case over the district attorney’s alleged hiring of her boyfriend as a special prosecutor, Willis later became emotional on the stand. He surprised the team with his aggressive and aggressive attitude. He received a reprimand from the judge.
“I’m a big fan of cameras in the courtroom,” Timmons, a former Atlanta prosecutor, told USA TODAY. “But it probably hurt her a little.”
Mr. Trump’s lawyers could face similar embarrassment if their powerful clients pressure them to represent voters rather than juries.
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Cameras at Trump’s trial will ‘block both ways’
Although New York State has never allowed trials to be broadcast, teeth Cameras installed in Judge Juan Melchán’s courtroom – one each aimed at the judge, the witness box, the prosecution and defense seats, provided live video feeds to screens in the courtroom and to the packed press room. . However, journalists are prohibited from recording or broadcasting what they see or hear.
Closed-circuit power feeding is the “all-seeing eye,” Cornell said. “It’s scary. The camera never leaves him, and I think that’s why he often sits with his eyes closed,” she said of Trump.
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But what if President Trump’s morning nap on the first day of jury selection was livestreamed? Would seeing President Trump, who touts his vitality and mocks President Joe Biden as “Sleepy Joe,” dozing off during his own trial, change his voters?
“In this day and age where images can be manipulated, some might say this is a manipulated video,” Florence said. “Ten or 20 years ago, that would have been devastating.”
Richard Emery, a veteran litigator and former member of the New York State Commission on Public Integrity, said a live trial would be a “two-way street” for Trump. “All the clips of him will be released in the criminal courtroom, various witnesses will speak out about him, the news media will pick up on certain moments in the video, and I think that will hurt him.”
Courtroom cameras, on the other hand, give Trump his most prized possession: a megaphone. In January, Trump ignored the judge’s instructions in a civil fraud trial and instead lashed out at the state attorney general and the judge.
Experts say if TV broadcasts are allowed in New York, Trump’s angry moments could become more publicized and inflame the Republican base, especially if he testifies in his own defense. It is said that there is a sex. But those shocking scenes can alienate your most important audience.
“It’s a moment that serves the campaign’s interests,” Emery said. “But in the context of trials and jury decisions, that can backfire.”
Contributor: Aisha Bagchi, USA TODAY
