Special Counsel Jack Smith Tells Court He Opposes Cameras in Trump’s D.C. Trial

Special Counsel Jack Smith told the United States District Court for the District of Columbia that his office opposes an effort by media outlets to allow cameras in the courtroom for Donald Trump’s trial.

Smith’s team is prosecuting the former president in D.C. over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. They are also prosecuting Trump in Florida because of what they say was his willful retention of classified material and efforts to obstruct their recovery.

In a filing on Friday night, the special counsel cited a longstanding rule (LCrR 53.1.1, which bans banning cameras of any kind from the courthouse:

The taking of photographs and operation of tape recorders inside the United States Courthouse and radio or television broadcasting from inside the courthouse during the progress of or in connection with judicial proceedings, including proceedings before a United States Magistrate Judge, whether or not court is actually in session, are prohibited. A judge may, however, permit (1) the use of electronic or photographic means for the presentation of evidence or the perpetuation of a record, and (2) the broadcasting, televising, recording, or photographing of investiture, ceremonial, or naturalization proceedings. Contents of official tapes that are made as part of the record in a case will be treated in the same manner as official stenographic note

“While Applicants are free to advocate their views to policymakers, 6 this Court should decline their invitation to ignore the binding nature of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53. Accordingly, the Applications should be denied,” Smith concluded.

Amid Trump’s federal indictments, a growing chorus of voices has pushed for his trials to be televised. In August, CNN legal analyst Elie Honig made his case.

“[I]f we don’t have cameras in the courtroom, here’s what we’re gonna have,” he said. “We’re gonna have young reporters running in and out of the courtroom texting us, trying to recount what happens. Two or three hours after the end of every trial, they will get a 300-page transcript that some court reporter typed up, and we’ll get sketch drawings. It’s not 1918 here! It’s 2023. We need to get with it.”