Donald Trump's lawyers have asked a New York judge to block media outlets from broadcasting the former US president's arraignment on Tuesday, citing concerns about security and potential prejudice to the defendant.
In a letter to Acting Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchán, the Trump team argued that allowing cameras and photographers in the courtroom would create a "circus-like atmosphere" and heighten security concerns, including those related to Secret Service protocols. They also claimed that any video or photography of the proceedings would only exacerbate these serious concerns.
However, Manhattan District Attorney's office has deflected to the judge to decide how best to manage the arraignment. While they acknowledged that there is no categorical prohibition on cameras during an arraignment under existing New York statutes and case law, their lawyer noted that a similar request for audio-video broadcasting was made for Trump's 2021 tax fraud arraignment.
The DA's office pointed out that Judge Merchán allowed a limited number of still photographs to be taken prior to the commencement of proceedings in that case. CNN is one of the media outlets requesting camera access for Tuesday's arraignment, which could create tension between the two parties.
Lawyers for Trump signed the letter opposing the request, including Todd Blanche who recently joined the former president's legal team. The DA's office has stopped short of opposing the request but emphasized that it would be a "defensible exercise" to exclude or restrict videography and photography if it is deemed necessary in the interest of avoiding potential prejudice to the defendant or maintaining an orderly proceeding.
The situation highlights the challenges faced by courts in balancing media access with security concerns. The DA's office must weigh its desire for transparency against the need to protect the participants in the proceedings, while Trump's lawyers are trying to limit the coverage to prevent a potentially embarrassing moment for the former president.
In a letter to Acting Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchán, the Trump team argued that allowing cameras and photographers in the courtroom would create a "circus-like atmosphere" and heighten security concerns, including those related to Secret Service protocols. They also claimed that any video or photography of the proceedings would only exacerbate these serious concerns.
However, Manhattan District Attorney's office has deflected to the judge to decide how best to manage the arraignment. While they acknowledged that there is no categorical prohibition on cameras during an arraignment under existing New York statutes and case law, their lawyer noted that a similar request for audio-video broadcasting was made for Trump's 2021 tax fraud arraignment.
The DA's office pointed out that Judge Merchán allowed a limited number of still photographs to be taken prior to the commencement of proceedings in that case. CNN is one of the media outlets requesting camera access for Tuesday's arraignment, which could create tension between the two parties.
Lawyers for Trump signed the letter opposing the request, including Todd Blanche who recently joined the former president's legal team. The DA's office has stopped short of opposing the request but emphasized that it would be a "defensible exercise" to exclude or restrict videography and photography if it is deemed necessary in the interest of avoiding potential prejudice to the defendant or maintaining an orderly proceeding.
The situation highlights the challenges faced by courts in balancing media access with security concerns. The DA's office must weigh its desire for transparency against the need to protect the participants in the proceedings, while Trump's lawyers are trying to limit the coverage to prevent a potentially embarrassing moment for the former president.
I feel bad for both sides. The DA's office wants to keep it fair and show the public what's happening, but at the same time, they gotta think about Donald's security and how it could get messed up with all those cameras and photographers in there 
. And then Trump's team is like "no way, this is gonna be a circus" 
, but can't we just have a little transparency? 
I don't know, maybe they should find a middle ground where the courtroom gets recorded for the public, but still keeps security pretty high 
. It's all about finding that balance between fairness and safety, right? 
like trump's lawyers want to block cameras from showin his arraignment but like da manhattan da's office is all "nope not gonna do it" 
they r sayin that cameras ain't prohibited and if they were in 2021 why not now?? 
is it just an excuse for da man to avoid gettin roasted by da media? 
anyway, i think courts should be transparent but at the same time gotta prioritize security and respect da defendant's privacy 
and his team is all bent outta shape about security protocols 
meanwhile the DA's office is over here trying not to get sued by CNN 
gotta love how these lawyers try to spin this as "prejudice" instead of just "I don't wanna get filmed in front of a bunch of people 
"
... I swear he was walking on the moon or something... Anyway, speaking of crazy moments, have you ever noticed how some TV shows and movies can make court proceedings look so boring? Like, where's the drama in that? 
And then they have to compromise between security and media access... reminds me of when my cousin went skydiving 
, he said it was exhilarating but also super nerve-wracking at the same time...
. It's a bit ironic that Trump's team is now trying to limit the cameras because they think it'll be too chaotic – just like how we used to try to sneak into the courtroom without being caught in the old days 
.
"The price of freedom is always paid in full upfront." - Malcolm X 
. The Trump team is trying to limit the coverage for obvious reasons – they don't want to embarrass their client, and it's understandable that they'd want to maintain some level of control over the narrative 
. But at the same time, the media outlets are exercising their right to report on public proceedings and hold those in power accountable 
.
and I gotta say, this whole thing with Donald Trump's arraignment is giving me some serious layout anxiety 
. Like, can't we just have a clear structure of what's going to happen? It feels like the DA's office is being super wishy-washy about whether or not to let cameras in, and Trump's lawyers are being all secretive about it 
.
️ And can we please just get some better formatting in the court documents? The margins are all wonky and it's super hard to read 
.
. The DA's office is trying to find a balance between transparency and security, which is super tricky. Can't we just have an open book here? 
. I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A BREEZE FOR CNN AND OTHER NEWS OUTLETS TO GET THEIR PEOPLE IN THERE, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE'RE ALREADY USED TO SEEING PRESIDENTS AND HIGH-PROFILE FOLKS BEING COVERED BY THE MEDIA 
. On one hand, it's totally fair that media outlets want to cover big events like this. But on the other hand, security is super important, you know? 
and then everyone gets a good scoop out of it 
so hopefully they can find a compromise that works for both parties 
. I mean, come on, it's just an arraignment, folks! Can't we just have some basic transparency? The Trump team is totally being unreasonable with their demands to block cameras and photographers from the courtroom. It's like they're trying to hide something, but what could be so incriminating that they need to shield it from public view? 
this whole thing is so stressful for everyone involved... think about it, trump's team wants to block cameras and photographers from broadcasting his arraignment, but at the same time they're worried that allowing them in would create some kind of circus-like atmosphere? 
. A little bit of transparency isn't going to hurt anyone. And let's be real, if Trump can handle the scrutiny now, he should've thought about that before he started tweeting all those crazy things 
.
. It's not like they're going to lose their minds if there are a few cameras in the courtroom 
.
. And Trump's team just seems to be trying to limit any potential embarrassment for him 
. It's gonna be interesting to see how it all plays out on Tuesday... will cameras get in, or will this whole thing just blow over?