Judge refuses TV cameras in Trump courtroom, limits media access

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s arraignment turned down a formal request from news organizations to have TV cameras in his courtroom and granted journalists limited access to what he acknowledged was a “historic” proceeding.

In a ruling late Monday, Judge Juan M. Merchan said he would permit five news photographers to take still pictures of Trump's appearance in a Manhattan court on Tuesday but ruled that they would have to leave once the arraignment began.

He also approved TV cameras in the hallways of the Manhattan courthouse where Trump will surrender, but he said reporters would not be able to carry electronic recording devices into his courtroom or to “overflow” rooms in the building.

» READ MORE: The latest news concerning former President Donald Trump’s arraignment

The ruling effectively means that the public won’t learn the details of Trump’s arraignment — an unprecedented event of global significance — until it’s over.

The former president is scheduled to appear in court at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday for his arraignment — a criminal defendant’s first court appearance — on charges stemming from an investigation into hush money paid to an adult-film actress during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Defendants in felony actions are typically handcuffed, fingerprinted, stand for mug shots and fill out arrest documents, a process that can take several hours. It's not certain, however, that Trump will be subjected to the usual routine.

Defendants then go before a judge, who reads the charges against the defendant. Trump has indicated that he will plead not guilty, although it's still unclear what charges Trump will face when his indictment by the New York district attorney is unsealed on Tuesday.

A coalition of news organizations — including The Washington Post, as well as the Associated Press, NBC, ABC, CBS, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and others — had petitioned Merchan for broad access to the arraignment, citing widespread public interest in the first criminal proceeding against a former president.

"That this indictment involves a matter of monumental significance cannot possibly be disputed," Merchan wrote in his ruling. "Never in the history of the United States has a sitting or past President been indicted on criminal charges. ... The populace rightly hungers for the most accurate and current information available."

Nevertheless, he wrote, the interests of the news media "must be weighed against competing interests" such as the safety of the defendant and potential interference with the "dignity and decorum of the court."

Trump's attorneys had opposed the news organization's request for broader access, saying it would create a "circuslike" atmosphere and was "inconsistent" with Trump's presumption of innocence.

The still photographers will be permitted to take pictures from the court's jury box for "several minutes" before the start of the arraignment but then will be ushered out, Merchan ruled.

He said press seats in the courtroom would be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, and those turned away could watch a closed-circuit feed in one of two overflow rooms. Journalists will not be permitted to bring laptops or phones to the rooms, making real-time reporting impossible.

Merchan's decision was not surprising, given that judges in New York have been reluctant to permit TV coverage or live video feeds in court.

Merchan has overseen criminal cases against several Trump associates; none of those proceedings has been carried on a live feed. He oversaw the prosecution last year of former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to tax fraud and grand larceny and was sentenced to five months in prison under a plea agreement.

Trump will be permitted to leave after the arraignment. He has indicated he intends to return immediately to his resort in Florida and will give a speech Tuesday night.