Fulton County Judge ruled that ex-president’s case will be shown on TV along with 18 co-defendants, Daily Mail reports
The revolution will not be televised – but Donald Trump’s Georgia racketeering trial will.
Superior Court of Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee announced in a court hearing taking place on Thursday that all the hearings of the presidential candidate and possible further trials would be streamed on the court’s YouTube as well as featured on news networks.
Previously, Trump trials in New York, Florida, and Washington, D.C. were to be televised, but the defendant refused to appear in court, pleading himself not guilty to attempting to undermine the state’s 2020 election results.
His mugshot, made a week before his refusal, has become a viral photo he intends to exploit to get an advantage.
The 13 felony charges against Donald Trump and 18 his allies include racketeering for allegedly pressuring officials to interfere in the election process before losing to Joe Biden. The racketeering case comes from Atlanta DA Fani Willis, who claims she has evidence proving that the ex-president attempted to overturn local election results.
Earlier in August, all 19 defendants were charged with conspiracy to overturn the results of the presidential election in the State of Georgia taking place in 2020. Now, the Judge has ruled that all the proceedings involving the 19 will be broadcast on television.
McAfee, the former state’s inspector general, added that news agencies will be allowed to install cameras in the court and all stations will have shared access. Neither defense nor prosecution representatives appeared in court to oppose the ruling to install the cameras.
In line with the spirit of transparency here, we have followed Judge McBurney’s model, and we have been livestreaming all of our major proceedings on a Fulton County-provided YouTube channel. And our plan was to do that with this case as well.
The judge also mentioned that they may need a more spacious courtroom, as large attendance is not excluded.
After a “political witch hunt” case, Donald Trump turned himself in to law enforcement at the Fulton County Jail and was released on $200,000 bail afterwards. The terms of the bond include restrictions on the behavior of the former president. He is also prohibited from intimidating witnesses or other defendants.
However, the 13-count Georgia case is not Trump’s only problem. On Monday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., set a trial date for March 4 in the case brought by Special counsel Jack Smith during an investigation that took place on January 6.
In New York, Trump has also been indicted on 34 counts for allegedly falsifying business records. It relates to his $150,000 payment to Stormy Daniels through attorney Michael Cohen. The trial is scheduled for March.
In Florida, the then-president is charged with alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Pleading himself not guilty, Trump declined to appear at the arraignment hearing.
However, the Georgia case remains Trump’s most serious legal challenge. The trial was set for March 4, 2024, but Kenneth Chesebro, one of Trump’s co-defendants, declared his constitutional right to a speedy trial. As the result, the hearing was rescheduled for October 23, 2023.
