Acting Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has gone out of his way to maintain integrity and be fair in Donald Trump’s criminal trial. I observed this firsthand, going to extreme measures to attend twice, most recently camping overnight through a bad storm to be one of less than 20 public attendees.
Unfortunately, Trump and surrogates have abused the lack of public access to erode confidence in the proceeding. It’s now imperative for the public to witness closing arguments to observe if the trial is fair. Merchan can achieve this by making public the trial’s existing video feed.
Last year, news organizations requested audio-visual coverage of Trump’s arraignment. Trump countered that this would “exacerbate an already almost circus-like atmosphere.” Siding with Trump, Merchan denied the request, but ordered two overflow rooms for public and media access. Merchan’s ban on cameras has endured to the trial, though public access is now worse with only one overflow room.
Merchan also imposed a gag order after Trump’s attacks on witnesses and even Merchan’s daughter, prohibiting Trump from making or directing others to make statements about witnesses, counsel (other than DA Alvin Bragg) or Merchan’s family.
Recently, at Trump’s urging, many GOP leaders including House Speaker Mike Johnson undermined the intent of the gag order, created a circus-like atmosphere, and directly attacked the trial’s integrity. Trump bragged, “I do have a lot of surrogates, and they are speaking very beautifully…. They come from all over Washington, and they’re highly respected, and they think this is the biggest scam they’ve ever seen.”
Johnson called the trial a “sham” and “partisan witch hunt.” He also said exactly what Trump can’t, “Among the atrocities here, the judge’s own daughter is making millions of dollars doing online fundraising for Democrats.” And he directly attacked witness Michael Cohen, calling him a “known liar who is clearly on a mission for personal revenge.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville stated he came to “overcome this gag order.” And author Andrew Rice claimed he personally witnessed Trump passing notes to surrogates telling them what to say. If true, this would directly violate the gag order.
Merchan has few options to enforce the gag order and publicly demonstrate that he is fairly administering justice. Even if he had proof that Trump was directing surrogates, $1,000 fines (the maximum) are ineffective, and incarceration too volatile.
Merchan can restore confidence though by providing everyone access to closing arguments simply by broadcasting the overflow room video feed.
New York prohibits broadcasting proceedings with witness testimony. However, court policy is “to facilitate the audio-visual coverage of court proceedings to the fullest extent permitted” to maintain public access and to preserve public confidence in the judiciary.
I wanted to see the trial to judge for myself. While Republican politicians have ready access, the public is severely limited. To have a chance of entry, I went the night before and camped on the sidewalk. Arriving at 9 p.m., I was 14th in line, among $50/hour line sitters and people from across the U.S.
To prevent jumping the unsupervised line, one “Line Dude” took it on himself to keep a list. I registered with “Tim” for my chance to witness an ex-president’s trial.
The line is adjacent to a courthouse overhang. However, the sheltered area is fenced off, so scores of us went unprotected through the stormy night, leaving us soaked. There were no Americans with Disabilities Act provisions and no bathroom access. The court provides no transparency about the number of public tickets, so many waited hours through heavy rain only to be turned away. Ultimately, fewer than 20 were admitted — five to the courtroom and a dozen to the “overflow” room just so we could watch on TV.
Nonetheless, it was incredibly worthwhile. Seeing defense attorney Todd Blanche’s rigorous questioning, Cohen’s confident responses, and Merchan bending over backwards to be fair to Trump gave me faith in the process.
However, the fact that the public is effectively banned is crazy. It is a far cry from a public trial that “every citizen may freely attend,” as judiciary law requires. And it provides an opening for surrogates — seemingly at Trump’s direction — to shape the narrative.
Making the video feed public for closing arguments would help restore faith, enabling prosecutors to show the case has merit and allowing the defense to show the charges weren’t proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Time is short, as closing arguments could be Tuesday. But this is essential to show the American public that this trial, and our judicial system, have integrity.
