A vocal critic of the former president hopes Donald Trump gets exactly what he says he wants at his election interference trial next year — sunlight.
“Trump claims he wants cameras in the courtroom for his federal trial, but he has to know it would backfire,” Salon writer Amanda Marcotte wrote Thursday.
“Trump and his lawyers know better than anyone that a televised trial would likely backfire on Trump in the 2024 presidential election by reminding voters that he's a lying, whining monster.”
Marcotte called for the very courtroom cameras special counsel Jack Smith fears could transform his Washington, D.C. conspiracy case into a “carnival.”
While he publicly slammed the camera-ban motion Smith’s team filed this week, Marcotte argues Trumps actually wants as much public scrutiny of daily court proceedings as Smith does: none.
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As proof, she points to a “maximally insulting” response filing directed at Judge Tanya Chutkan and an analysis from legal expert Harry Litman, who called Trump’s sunlight demands a charade.
“[Chutkan] doesn't have the power to order the trial to be televised — the Judicial Conference would have to change its policy,” Litman writes.
“It's just a phony stance by Trump to suggest he wants transparency.”
Marcotte argues that Trump’s “fellow fascists” and terrified liberal news hounds may know what a second Trump term entails, but average voters, as of yet, do not.
Daily news coverage of the trial would make Smith’s work harder, she writes, but it would also provide American people information they need before casting their ballots in 2024.
“There's no reason to believe Trump won't try to turn the proceedings into a circus anyway, by lying his head off to the TV cameras gathered outside or other spectacles,” she argues.
“At least if there are cameras inside the court, the public will have a chance to hear the prosecution counter Trump's claims with evidence.”
Finally, Marcotte echoes an argument Trump himself has made, sincerely or not.
“We have a right to bear witness to the trial,” Marcotte concludes. “Since they can't pack hundreds of millions of victims into the courtroom, cameras are the best option. If the concern is that cameras will somehow help Trump, it's time to get past it.”
