House Democrats call for 'live broadcasting' of Trump trial - Raw Story
By: Jake Johnson, Common Dreams (Raw Story - Celebrating Years of Independent Journalism)
that's one way to fight the alt-narratives by the right wing, which are expected to be prolific during this judicial process.
Dozens of House Democrats on Thursday urged the policy-setting body of the federal judiciary to authorize live broadcasts of former President Donald Trump's upcoming court proceedings as he faces charges stemming from his effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Cameras are usually barred from federal courtrooms, but 38 House Democrats argued in a letter to the Judicial Conference that "given the historic nature of the charges brought forth in these cases, it is hard to imagine a more powerful circumstance for televised proceedings."
"It is imperative the conference ensures timely access to accurate and reliable information surrounding these cases and all of their proceedings, given the extraordinary national importance to our democratic institutions and the need for transparency," reads the letter, which was led by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).
"If the public is to fully accept the outcome, it will be vitally important for it to witness, as directly as possible, how the trials are conducted, the strength of the evidence adduced, and the credibility of witnesses," the letter continues. "We urge the conference to take additional steps, including live broadcasting, to ensure the facts of this case are brought forward, unfiltered, to the public."
The lawmakers released their letter shortly after Trump appeared in federal court in Washington, D.C. and pleaded not guilty to four felony counts laid out in a 45-page indictment filed earlier this week by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed in November to lead investigations into Trump's election subversion efforts and the January 6 attack.
The charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States and " conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one's vote counted."
The first pretrial hearing is set to take place on August 28.
The severity of the charges against Trump—who is seeking the presidency again in 2024—and the trial's massive implications have led legal experts to make the case for allowing video cameras into the courtroom.
Andrew Weissmann, a former top prosecutor at the Justice Department, told Vanity Fair on Thursday that the decision rests with the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Roberts, who is the chair of the Judicial Conference.
"It's going to be incumbent on the chief justice of the United States to make this trial public," said Weissmann. "He has the power to do that."
Trolling, taunting, spamming, and off topic comments may be removed at the discretion of group mods. NT members that vote up their own comments, repeat comments, or continue to disrupt the conversation risk having all of their comments deleted. Please remember to quote the person(s) to whom you are replying to preserve continuity of this seed. Any use of the phrase "Trump Derangement Syndrome" or the TDS acronym in a comment will be deleted. Any use of the term "Brandon", or any variation thereof, when referring to President Biden, will be deleted.
Tags
Who is online
609 visitors
another chance for republicans to rid themselves of the political yoke around their collective necks...
It would be worth putting it on tv just so we can see all the stupid faces Trump will make as the testimony mounts against him.
a split screen contrasting american due process versus an authoritarian asswipe...
That's what I want to see. I could see him disrupting the proceedings, also
I want to see trump try to keep his mouth shut for 3 weeks and 3 days in order to stay out of jail...
Never gonna happen
the dipshit didn't even make it 24 hours. lock him up...
Democrats making it clear that politics is what matters in the trump prosecution, not justice. Not even trying to hide it
Donald Trump announced his presidential run about six months before candidates usually do, for one reason. He wanted to hide behind his candidacy as the investigations closed in on him.
THAT is making a political issue out of it.
trumpster's making it clear that those they support are above the law. not even trying to hide it.
americans making it clear that equal justice under the law supersedes the rwnj concept of an imperial POTUS. even if your hero is convicted and sent to prison, it will fall short of the punishment anyone should receive for trying to subvert the constitution, in the eyes of any true patriot.
trump won't be able to restrain himself, will break the law again, and end up behind bars before his 1st trial.
7 years of investigating and there still no proof he did it a first time.
the preponderance of no proof would mean no grand jury indictments. guess again.
the preponderance of no proof would mean no grand jury indictments.
Amounts to mere speculation. Now, how many grand jury indictments have ended with zero sum? Remember, 7 years of investigating and it's come down to a "special prosecutor" with a history of having convictions overturned due to his conduct. Smith already has a problem with the Brady Law in one of these indictments.
so trump supporters have nothing to worry about then. no need for them to go apoplectic...
You would have to take that up with them. I'm sure as there will be more crying from the hypocrites as things like Smith's history come to light.
smith's trial has been going on in the rwnj media for many months...
If the trial is in DC or NYC, it won't be fair or impartial. Due process will not have been served.
But Smith is so inept that Trump probably has nothing to worry about.
... but the classified documents trial down in floRida with a trump appointed judge will be fair, huh?
Mark Levin lays it out pretty well.