The Florida judge presiding over Tuesday’s arraignment of former President Donald Trump will not permit cameras, phones, or electronic devices into the Miami courtroom.
“The ban was announced late on Monday by the chief judge for the Southern District of Florida, Cecilia M. Altonaga, as the time of the much-awaited appearance of the former president in court quickly approaches. Trump will be arraigned at a Miami court on Tuesday—an appearance that has posed an issue for many broadcasters and networks on how to cover the historic event,” Newsweek reported.
Altonaga wrote in the order that “on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, all cellular phones and/or electronic equipment are hereby prohibited for news reporters and other members of the media inside the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse in Miami.”
CBS News Congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane wrote on Twitter: “There will be no photos. No video. No audio. And no journalists permitted to communicate to the outside world through phone devices (or thru any other technology) during the first ever federal arraignment of a former US President.”
There will be no photos. No video. No audio. And no journalists permitted to communicate to the outside world through phone devices (or thru any other technology) during the first ever federal arraignment of a former US President
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) June 13, 2023
Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed 37 charges against Trump relating to his management of classified documents. Trump, President Joe Biden’s chief opponent in next year’s presidential election, could face decades in prison if proven guilty on all charges.
At least twice, according to the indictment, Trump is alleged to have shown classified documents to individuals who lacked the necessary security clearances. The DOJ claims that both incidents occurred at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
CNN received information regarding one of the alleged instances.
The network reported on June 2 that federal prosecutors had “obtained an audio recording of a summer 2021 meeting in which former President Donald Trump acknowledges he held onto a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran, multiple sources told CNN, undercutting his argument that he declassified everything.”
Trump announced last Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice had indicted him on charges related to his handling of classified materials.
The charges “include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, a scheme to conceal, and false statements and representations,” ABC News reported.
“Maximum sentences for the respective charges, per their statutes, range from five up to 20 years, although any eventual sentence should Trump be convicted would likely be much lower,” the outlet added.
“Any eventual sentence should Trump be convicted would likely be much lower,” ABC noted in its report.
After perusing the 49-page indictment, Jeffrey Clark, a former assistant attorney general in the Trump administration, stated that there is something on page three that concerns the prosecution.
More on this story via Conservative Brief:
Clark noted on Twitter that the leak to the media is grounds for having the case thrown out. CONTINUE READING…
