Trump Lawyer Says His Team Doesn’t Want Cameras In Court

Topline

Trump’s legal team opposes allowing cameras in the courtroom where the former president will reportedly face more than 30 charges related to a hush-money deal with an adult film star, his lawyer Joe Tacopina said Monday after media organizations filed a request asking a judge to allow cameras.

Former US President Donald Trump waves as he boards his plane at Palm Beach International Airport in … [+] West Palm Beach, Florida, on April 3, 2023, ahead of his arraignment Tuesday in Manhattan. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said “we oppose” allowing cameras in the courtroom, he told Forbes, accusing prosecutors of wanting to make a “spectacle . . . they want that. We don’t.”

The statement comes after several major media organizations asked Judge Juan Merchan to bend a state law that prohibits cameras in New York state court rooms except when a judge gives express permission, citing the unprecedented level of public interest in the case.

The media outlets, including NBC News and The New York Times, also asked Merchan to unseal the indictment ahead of Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday, when the details of the charges against him will be made public.

What To Watch For

Merchan is expected to make a decision whether to allow cameras in court by the end of the day Tuesday. State laws allow cameras during trials when witness testimony is not being taken.

Contra

Tacopina’s statements appear to defy Trump’s strategy in the case. He previously told advisors he wants to turn his arrest into a public “spectacle” including handcuffs and a “perp walk” to avoid looking “weak,” the New York Times and Guardian reported. He has publicized his schedule on Truth Social ahead of his arraignment on Tuesday, including plans to depart Mar-A-Lago at noon on Monday en route to New York, where he will spend the night at his apartment in Trump Tower before surrendering at the Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday. He is slated to give an 8:15 p.m. speech on Tuesday after returning to Mar-A-Lago.

Tangent

New York State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D) introduced legislation last week that would authorize cameras in courtrooms unless the judge overseeing the case prohibits them, arguing “the public has the right to witness this moment in history,” he said in a press conference. Bills to allow cameras in courtrooms have repeatedly failed to pass the state legislature, however.

Key Background

Trump’s arraignment in the Manhattan criminal case is set for Tuesday, following his historic indictment on Thursday in a case that centers around hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about their alleged affair. He is reportedly facing 30 counts related to business fraud in the scheme, including at least one felony. Prosecutors were widely believed to be weighing charges of falsifying business records and campaign finance violations against Trump. The charges stem from federal prosecutors’ 2018 case against Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, in which they determined that Cohen made the deal with Daniels to sway the results of the 2016 presidential election and was reimbursed by the Trump Organization under a contract that falsely specified the payments were for legal fees. Trump has denied the affair and accused the Manhattan District Attorney of conducting a politically motivated investigation.