Donald Trump indictment: Federal criminal trials won't be televised under updated rules
by Kaelan Deese, Supreme Court Reporter
September 12, 2023 01:58 PM
Former President Donald Trump's federal criminal trials won't be televised under new rules released Tuesday regarding remote access to federal courtrooms.
The Judicial Conference, the policymaking body behind U.S. federal courts, effectively rejected calls by nearly 40 House Democrats on Tuesday after they asked it to consider allowing live broadcasts of Trump's two federal criminal trials.
The rules will "permit judges presiding over civil and bankruptcy cases to provide the public live audio access to non-trial proceedings that do not involve witness testimony," according to a press release. It furthered that "the change approved Tuesday does not extend to criminal proceedings."
Such rule changes mark a slight nudge forward for transparency in the federal court system as dozens of House Democrats and some Republicans have called on the body to make limited exceptions for cameras in the federal district court, specifically over Trump's criminal cases over alleged attempts to subvert the 2020 election results and alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Lavenski Smith, a President George W. Bush appointee who is chairman of the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference, said there was no discussion about whether to allow the streaming of Trump's forthcoming trials, according to a statement after the meeting.
"The conference itself did not take that specific request," Smith said. "The answer to that question at present is controlled by federal rules that prohibit cameras in criminal proceedings under Rule 53, and unless actions are taken to modify that rule, that will be the status of things."
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/trump-indictment-federal-criminal-trials-wont-be-televised
