# DOJ/Jack Smith Investigation into Trump and Election Interference, January 6th Insurrection (Re-Indicted August 27, 2024) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [November 23, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455 "2022-11-23T20:14:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 88
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1742 "2023-10-26T23:04:11Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I like how that can be read two ways. “Trump’s sanity, or Meadows’ sanity?” “Yes.” ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1743 "2023-10-27T21:23:45Z")
Mr. Trump? Do you wanna … Idunno … be on TV?? > **[US judge asks Trump if he wants his federal election trial televised](https://news.yahoo.com/us-judge-asks-trump-wants-202442696.html)** > > WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. judge on Friday asked former President Donald Trump whether he wants to appear on television when he stands trial in federal court on charges of attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat. U.S. District Judge Tanya... > [@](#): > > A U.S. judge on Friday asked former President Donald Trump whether he wants to appear on television when he stands trial in federal court on charges of attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat. > > U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington asked Trump’s lawyers to give their opinion by Nov. 10 on media requests to broadcast the trial, which is scheduled to begin in March 2024. > [@](#): > > Prosecutors have said in court filings that they oppose the effort but have not explained why. They are due to file their argument by Nov. 3. > > Trump’s lead lawyer in the case, John Lauro, previously told CNN that he personally supported televising the trial. Lauro told Reuters on Friday that Trump will respond “in accordance with the Court’s Order.” > > It is unclear whether Trump, a former reality television star who has aggressively courted publicity in his business and political career, will want to broadcast the trial, which will come in the thick of the Republican nominating contest. Please – as always: no wagering. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1744 "2023-10-27T21:28:24Z")
LOL, just spitballing here, but to me this looks like Judge Chutkan throwing a bit of shade on Trump. Subtle mocking. Love it. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1745 "2023-10-27T22:18:43Z")
Oh, wow. It’ll be interesting if Trump agrees to have it televised and whether he’ll be able to keep it together while testifying. I don’t think he’ll be able to. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1746 "2023-10-27T22:34:26Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Oh, wow. It’ll be interesting if Trump agrees to have it televised and whether he’ll be able to keep it together while testifying. Trump already has said, through his attorneys, that he wants it televised. He’s an experienced TV star. I think he knows what he is doing here. As for “keep it together while testifying,” whatever that means, Americans who were already determined to vote for Joe Biden will agree that Trump’s demeanor, and whatever he says if he takes the stand, was terrible and damaging. But, sorry, they don’t matter here. I’m more concerned about what people hesitating whether to go out and vote, and/or seriously vacillating on who they prefer, think. TV coverage would help Trump by getting out his message while taking attention away from Biden’s messaging. See [Why Televising the Trump Trials Is a Bad Idea](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/opinion/trump-jack-smith-trial-television.html) > [@](#): > > A witness who is named and pictured on television becomes a sitting duck for any Trump partisan intent on seeking retribution. > > A major lesson from the O.J. Simpson murder trial, which gripped the nation when it was broadcast starting in 1995, is how the impact of television can undermine a trial when the judge, lawyers, defendant and witnesses play to the viewing audience, as they did then. This turned a grave murder trial, with Mr. Simpson’s guilt or exoneration hanging in the balance, into daily entertainment. > > Mr. Trump probably wants cameras in the courtrooms precisely for that reason. His successes or failures as a president will always be debated, but almost everyone agrees that he excels at creating reality TV. No matter how experienced a judge is in controlling the courtroom, Mr. Trump could, through gestures or well-timed outbursts, try to use the broadcast to sway public opinion and in the process undermine the trial’s solemnity. However, I can think of reasons why televising the trial may help Biden, and so reserve my right to change my mind! ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1747 "2023-10-27T22:53:57Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Trump already has said, through his attorneys, that he wants it televised. Let’s hear him say that to the judge. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1748 "2023-10-27T22:55:16Z")
I think the OFFER at least is clever. If he’s on record saying he wants it, and gets it, it deflects (well for rational individuals, not MAGA of course) his later efforts to say it’s forced upon him. If he says he doesn’t want it televised, and the court agrees, it makes it harder to claim he’s being silenced (subject to the above). If they don’t get him on the record and the court choses either way, it feeds HIS version of events. So yeah, put him on the spot and make a record of it, for what little it will do. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1749 "2023-10-27T22:58:03Z")
I think that the judge has to at least ask, before he gives his reason not to televise the trial. Provides a block for appeal where he can detail out his reasoning. Also gives the Trump team of the best lawyers a chance to muck up the request with campaign crap. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1750 "2023-10-27T23:00:27Z")
Trump and his lawyers love to say one thing in front of a microphone, and quite the opposite thing in front of a judge. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1751 "2023-10-27T23:01:37Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > If he says he doesn’t want it televised, and the court agrees, it makes it harder to claim he’s being silenced (subject to the above). Eh, no it won’t unfortunately. That doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been silenced, you can use your platform that goes out to millions of people to whine about being silenced. [![](https://i1.wp.com/leftycartoons.visionmule.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2018/08/silenced.png) ](https://i1.wp.com/leftycartoons.visionmule.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2018/08/silenced.png) Unless you are talking about an appeals court, in which case I agree with you. If he tries to use the strategy that he’ll appeal based on the assertion that he was being targeted for political purposes in order to shut him up, this sort of thing would undercut that effort. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1752 "2023-10-27T23:05:43Z")
Like guiliani in front of a judge, tugging at his necktie and sweating, claiming “no, no your honor, were not claiming that there was, he-heh, election fraud here…” ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1753 "2023-10-27T23:43:21Z")
I’m confused regarding the question of televising this particular trial. It seems impossible, and yet the judge is inviting Trump’s lawyers (at least one of whom said he wants it, but outside the courtroom) to make a formal request. AFAIK, the trial cannot be televised live because there is a [Rule 53 prohibiting federal trials from being photographed or broadcasted](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_53): > [@](#): > > Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. As far as changing Rule 53 is concerned, this was in the news yesterday: [The federal judiciary will appoint a panel of judges and attorneys to consider allowing cameras in the courtroom for criminal cases, delaying any decision on the issue until well after former President Donald Trump’s upcoming trial.](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/judiciary-wont-revise-courtroom-camera-ban-before-trump-trial) So, seemingly, it could only be televised on a delay, and the screen could not show photographic images. Perhaps the delayed C-SPAN show could go back and forth between artist sketches of the persons involved (I hope leaving out jurors). Also see: [If Trump Trial Isn’t Broadcast Live, a Plea to Record It for Posterity](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/23/us/politics/trump-trial-tv.html) > [@](#): > > NBC argued that relaying a video feed from the courtroom to its studios, say, and then broadcasting it to the public, perhaps after a brief delay, would not run afoul of the rule. > > That argument might strike some as too clever. But it does point to a more fundamental one: The judge overseeing the case, [Tanya S. Chutkan](https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/chutkan-tanya-sue), could authorize audiovisual recordings to be created and then released in due course, responding to the claims not of the news cycle but of the historical record. That would not seem to be broadcasting from the courtroom. That maybe wouldn’t be broadcasting (narrowcasting?), but I think it would be photographing. Can Judge Chutkan really rule that a video is something other than a series of photographs, and thus allowed if not broadcasted? And does not being live even have anything to do with broadcasting? What does the word broadcasting mean? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1754 "2023-10-27T23:51:47Z")
It depends on what the meaning of “is” is. So I guess televising it is bad, even if Trump’s team claimed before a microphone that that was what they wanted? And since when was Trump ever bothered by constitutional constraints? ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1755 "2023-10-28T00:10:26Z")
I dunno on this one. I think if it’s televised, the mango and his male spawn will simply keep repeating “election was stolen” over and over, making insanity a possible defense. 😃 Or it also gives the orange team opportunity to “perform” way too much, only to rile up the base. Yet, the amount of lies and fraud could change some people’s minds. Six in one, half dozen in the other. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1756 "2023-10-28T00:13:53Z")
I think a lot of people will receive an education on how a bright, experienced judge controls her courtroom. I think Trump will not want the trial televised. He prefers the court of public opinion. If he says no to a televised trial, it’s going to be much harder for him to defend the things he’s saying outside the courtroom. Which may be exactly why Judge Chutkan made the offer. As re rules, exceptions can always be made. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1757 "2023-10-28T00:13:57Z")
If this is televised, the world will see what an unhinged lunatic Trump is, the end. Trump knows this, which is why he will claim before a microphone that it should be televised, but beg before a judge that it should not be. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1758 "2023-10-28T00:21:30Z")
And his stupid fucking suckers are going to go: “Trump! Trump! U.S.A! U.S.A!” ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1759 "2023-10-28T00:45:07Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > I think if it’s televised, the mango and his male spawn will simply keep repeating “election was stolen” over and over, making insanity a possible defense. 😃 That’s “Stollen election” ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1760 "2023-10-28T00:56:47Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Trump already has said, through his attorneys, that he wants it televised. He’s an experienced TV star. I think he knows what he is doing here. I don’t know if you’ve been following Trump’s actions since 2016 or so, but very often there is a difference between what he says and what has or will happen. For example he’s lied about not being able to testify in the suit E. Jean Carroll brought against him, he claims he’s been unfairly denied a jury trial in his current civil fraud case, and when he speaks to the press often says outrageous things like there’s no case against him or that he won that day. I might be out of line here, but I think Trump might very well be a habitual liar willing to say whatever immediately comes to mind depending on his audience and what he thinks is good for him. > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > As for “keep it together while testifying,” whatever that means, Americans who were already determined to vote for Joe Biden will agree that Trump’s demeanor, and whatever he says if he takes the stand, was terrible and damaging. Oh, I don’t care about the voters. There might be a few people swayed by Trump’s testimony one way or the other, but his core supporters will likely stick by him no matter what. By “keeping it together” I mean not incriminating himself futher, committing perjury, or even contempt of court. > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > TV coverage would help Trump by getting out his message while taking attention away from Biden’s messaging. Unlike a television interview or a rally, Trump isn’t in control at trial. When he goes off on a tangent, he’ll be brought to heel which is something Trump cannot stand. Look at how huffy he got the other day when Engoron told Trump he wasn’t a credible witness. But I do think you’re right, if Trump takes the stand he’s doing so to appeal to his people. I think he’s accepted that he’s already lost this case. ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1761 "2023-10-28T01:14:48Z")
If I was Trump I would definitely want it televised. Then people can see video “proof” of whatever you want them to see. You can show clips devoid of all the context and say whatever you want it to mean. Thats how trials work outside the courtroom. It’s like the Depp-Heard trial x 100. If you’re a Depp fan, he did great because you saw him/his side do great (or her/her side do bad) with the video and legal commentary (by a real lawyer!) to help you understand it. And if you’re a Heard fan, the opposite. And never shall the two sides meet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455.md?page=87) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455.md?page=89)