Trump hush money trial: Will the proceedings be televised? – USA TODAY
When Donald Trump’s hush money trial starts Monday, a lot of people would probably like to tune in to watch the historic proceedings, but they won’t be able to.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for allegedly disguising hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels. He has pleaded not guilty.
Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law when issuing the payments to Stormy Daniels and another woman ahead of the 2016 election to keep them quiet about alleged past affairs they had with Trump. Trump denies the allegations.
Reporters and a few demonstrators gathered at a Manhattan courthouse Monday morning ahead of jury selection, though only a select few will get to watch the trial live.
Live updates:From-the-courthouse coverage of Donald Trump’s hush money trial
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No, the trial won’t be televised or available to watch online.
New York court rules state that audio-visual coverage of trials is not permitted unless a representative of the news media submits an application and the judge allows it. Records show an application was submitted to cover the arraignment, but not the trial. Judge Juan Merchan rejected the request to televise the arraignment. The New York State Unified Court System did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for further explanation.
Still, reporters will be present in the courtroom and an overflow room that will have a live stream of the proceedings.
Trump may hold press conferences outside of court and speak to reporters in the courthouse hallway.
Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas