The one trial that must be televised | Steve Bousquet

It’s the most important trial in American history.

The defendant, Donald Trump, is accused by the federal government of a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States and overturn the 2020 election.

A former and possibly future president is accused of felonies that could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

The specter of Trump behind bars has given rise to absurdly unprecedented questions, like: If he’s convicted, could he still run for president? (Yes). Even if he’s sent to prison, could he still run for president? (Yes). If he’s in prison, could he serve as president? (Not likely, because of the immense complications of running the country from inside a prison cell).

This is uncharted territory, like the contents of the 45-page indictment, which accuses Trump of a “conspiracy against rights” by violating every citizen’s constitutional right to have their vote count.

“Trump on trial.”

That’s the news banner you’ll see stripped across your TV screen for much of next year.

The ratings for United States v. Donald J. Trump could be sky high — for awhile. But we will probably never know.

That’s because, without a historic reversal by the federal courts, you won’t see any of it on television, because federal courts have prohibited TV coverage of their proceedings since 1946.

A four-year test program in 14 federal circuits went well a decade ago, but Chief Justice John Roberts kept the ban after a study group cited “the negative effect upon witnesses and/or the significant equipment and personnel costs associated with video recordings.”

Like so much else in norm-shattering Trump World, this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

This country is a terrible period of darkness, created by Trump himself. We need every sliver of light that we can find.

One obvious place to start is with an unblinking television camera in a Washington, D.C. courtroom to capture every word and gesture, its silent gaze fixed on Trump. But it appears we’ll have to settle for the work of courtroom sketch artists with their pens, pencils and oil crayons.

A shoplifting case in the Broward County courthouse could be on television, if one ever went to trial.

But the criminal trial of a former president of the United States who’s the overwhelming favorite among Republican voters?

No way.

This is dangerous for democracy, for a number of reasons, but one of them is that it could work to Trump’s political advantage, even though his lawyer told Fox News last month that Trump, too, is in favor of televising the trial. Trump favors falsehoods and spin over the actual record, so despite what his lawyer says, a blacked-out courtroom could help him.

Dozens of Democrats in Congress signed a letter urging the courts to open Trump’s trial to TV coverage, citing the need for “timely and reliable” information and transparency.

Facing the full weight of the U.S. Department of Justice, a desperate Trump is certain to try his case through the media as he’s already doing, which is probably unavoidable if his case goes to trial in the midst of the 2024 campaign.

At the same time, federal prosecutors will never engage with the media during a trial, so Trump’s side will control the spin zone. Talk about “fake news.”

There’s talk that the trial judge may impose a gag order on him. But how is it possible to silence a presidential candidate — let alone Trump of all people?

The challenge television faces in coping with a courtroom blackout was evident at Trump’s arraignment Thursday. Cable networks showed images of satellite trucks, D.C. traffic and the courthouse.

It was just an arraignment, a perfunctory proceeding. But it was historic, and we couldn’t see it. We had to settle for observations like this: “He really was looking around the room,” one TV reporter said afterward.

Fifth years ago this week, Americans were glued to their TVs, watching the live Senate Watergate Committee hearings. We got to see it and we became a stronger country for it.

It’s time to pull back the curtain that won’t let us see justice at work.

Steve Bousquet is Opinion Editor of the Sun Sentinel and a columnist in Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale. Contact him at sbousquet@sunsentinel.com or (850) 567-2240 and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @stevebousquet.