Trump Demands Televised Federal Election Interference Trial, Calling it a ‘Dreamt-Up Unconstitutional Charade’

Former President Donald Trump is pushing for his upcoming federal election interference trial in Washington D.C. to be televised, joining media outlets who argue the public should be able to watch the historic case unfold.

Trump’s lawyers said in court filings on Friday that “every person in America, and beyond, should have the opportunity to study this case firsthand.” They added that 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.”

The Justice Department opposes broadcasting the trial, scheduled to begin in March, noting that federal court rules prohibit televised proceedings. News organizations like the Associated Press argue there has never been a stronger case for making an exception to that rule than a former president facing trial for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election results.

Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was indicted in August on felony charges for working to undo Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the lead-up to the violent January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

The request for a televised trial comes as the federal election case has emerged as the most serious legal threat to Trump’s political ambitions. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan appears intent on keeping the March trial date as scheduled.

In a separate classified documents case, the federal judge pushed back multiple deadlines in a way that likely prevents that case from going to trial in May as planned. Trump faces dozens of felony counts under the Espionage Act in that case.