Public transparency is our best defense against corruption and disinformation.
As Donald Trump prepares to go to court on federal charges stemming from the Jan. 6 insurrection—including conspiracy to violate civil rights, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding—the American public must have full access to the unprecedented trial.
This federal trial has extraordinary national importance to our democratic institutions. For the country to fully accept the outcome, it will be vitally important for us to witness it. Otherwise, many will learn about the events through the potentially biased reporting of certain media outlets (yeah, you know which ones).
Sign the petition: Televise the Trump trial.
Four out of five Republicans believe the investigations leading to Trump’s indictments were a “witch hunt.” The propaganda machine that is Fox News continues to downplay the investigations and desperately wants to make their Hunter Biden red herring stick as a distraction from the truth.
With social media conspiracies and biased news sources, facts can be distorted. In the courtroom, only facts matter, not rumors or lies. We need to see this to avoid any dishonest or malicious spin. Televising the trial will demonstrate that Trump is being treated just like everyone else charged with a crime.
Currently, a federal rule forbids televising federal court proceedings. But House Democrats are calling for an exception in the name of public trust, asking the Judicial Conference—the national policy-making body for the federal courts—to authorize the broadcasting of court proceedings in the case of United States of America v. Donald J. Trump.
There have been exceptions to the rule in the past. In the 1997 trial of the Oklahoma City bomber, survivors were able to watch the proceedings. Families of 9/11 victims were able to view the trial of former al-Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui.
The Supreme Court has even previously that ruled the press and public have a right to observe federal criminal trials.
Public trust in our judiciary is low. “Deep state” conspiracy theories attempt to distract from Trump’s true crimes. To ensure public trust and faith in the judicial system, and in this trial specifically, the public must be allowed to watch and listen to Trump’s upcoming trial.
