special prosecutor jack smith He told the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that his office opposes efforts by news organizations to allow cameras in courtrooms. donald trump’s trial.
Smith’s team is prosecuting the former president in Washington, D.C., over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. They are also indicting President Trump in Florida, accusing him of knowingly retaining classified materials and attempting to obstruct their recovery.
in filing On Friday night, the special counsel cited a long-standing rule (LCrR 53.1.1banning cameras of any kind into courthouses.
Taking photographs and operating a tape recorder within a U.S. courthouse during or in connection with a judicial proceeding, including a proceeding before a U.S. magistrate judge, whether or not the courtroom is actually in session; radio or television broadcasts from. Sessions are prohibited. However, a judge may not (1) use electronic or photographic means to present evidence or perpetuate a record; and (2) broadcast, telecast, record, or photograph an ordination, ceremony, or naturalization proceeding. Photography may be permitted. . The contents of official tapes created as part of the incident record are treated like official shorthand.
“Although petitioners are free to make their case to policymakers,6 this court should deny the petition to disregard the binding force of Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Article 53. , the application should be dismissed,” Mr Smith concluded.
As Trump faces federal charges, calls are growing for his trial to be televised. In August, a CNN legal analyst Ellie Honig he claimed.
“[I]If there are no cameras in the courtroom, we will provide this,” he said. “You’ll have young reporters coming in and out of the courtroom texting you and trying to tell you the details of what happened. A 300-page transcript typed by court reporters two to three hours after each trial. will arrive, and we will receive sketches. This is not 1918! It’s 2023. We need to get through it.”
