Former US President, Donald Trump has joined the push for his federal election interference trial in Washington to be televised, joining media outlets that say the American public should be able to watch the historic case unfold.
Africa Today News, New York reports that Federal court rules currently prohibit broadcasting proceedings, however The Associated Press and other news organizations say the unprecedented case of a former president standing trial on accusations that he tried to subvert the will of voters warrants making an exception.
Opposing the initiative is the Justice Department, which claims that the judge presiding over the case lacks the power to disregard the long-standing national regulation prohibiting cameras in federal courtrooms. The trial is expected to start on March 4.
In court documents submitted late on Friday, Trump’s attorneys said that everyone in the country ought to be able to witness what they perceive to be a politically driven investigation of the Republican front-runner for the party’s 2024 nominee. Additionally, the defence indicated that Trump will attempt to exploit the trial as a stage to reiterate his baseless accusations that Democrat Joe Biden stole the 2020 election from him. Trump entered a not guilty plea.
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“President Trump absolutely agrees, and in fact demands, that these proceedings should be fully televised so that the American public can see firsthand that this case, just like others, is nothing more than a dreamt-up unconstitutional charade that should never be allowed to happen again,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
The request for a televised trial comes as the Washington case has emerged as the most potent and direct legal threat to Trump’s political fortunes. Trump is accused of illegally scheming to overturn the election results in the run-up to the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by his supporters.