Donald Trump first claimed he wouldn't file a motion regarding the potential for cameras in his D.C. criminal case, but then came out with a filing supporting the effort to broadcast his federal elections trial. That filing is a bluff, according to one legal expert.
Trump, who on Saturday gave a speech in which he lashed out against the prosecutor in that case, Jack Smith, is falsely claiming he wants cameras in his trial, according to former prosecutor Joyce Vance. She wrote about the issue on her Substack on Saturday.
"After representing to prosecutors that he would not file a response to media groups’ request that Judge Chutkan permit cameras in the courtroom during him March trial, Trump filed one late last night. What could be more on brand?" the ex-prosecutor asked.
She then added:
"I would caution you against being fooled by what’s going on here. Trump does not really want cameras in the courtroom. They would expose the truth and expose him for what he truly is. He understands what happens when his testimony and the testimony of others about him is made public—he has undoubtedly read the recent New York Times/Siena poll that shows him losing in key swing states if he’s convicted in a criminal case. He saw how people had their eyes opened when the House January 6 committee proceedings were televised. Trump likes his solo appearances outside of the courtroom, but he fears the reality of the actual proceedings and the truth."
Vance goes on to argue that Trump and his lawyers "know what the law currently says."
"As I wrote last night, it’s the position the government took: the rules firmly bar cameras in the court. It will be a heavy lift to convince the courts to reverse course, not undoable, but uphill. So now, with this filing, Trump is trying to give the public an additional reason to accept the idea that his trial shouldn’t be televised: because he wants it to be. Trump is hoping for the knee jerk reaction, we should automatically reject anything he wants," she wrote. "If Trump wants cameras, we should all be suspicious and concerned, right? People will say cameras would work to his advantage; he would make it a circus."
Moreover, according to Vance, Trump's new tactic could actually backfire.
"And Trump’s lawyers may have inadvertently provided Judge Chutkan with some cover by asking for cameras and claiming Trump’s due process rights would otherwise be violated. Federal courts have traditionally disallowed cameras out of concern for a defendant’s due process rights," she said. "Here, Trump has effectively mooted that argument. He has waived the argument on appeal. There is no reason, other than the existence of an outmoded rule, to prevent the public from observing this most important of trials."
