(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind the campaign to televise his trial on the federal election case, a move aimed at shedding light on what he claims is a political persecution against him.
In a bold step, Trump’s legal team, led by attorneys John Lauro and Todd Blanche, filed a scathing motion on Friday, urging Obama-appointed Judge Tanya Chutkan to grant their request for a televised trial.
The case centers around claims that Trump sought to illegally thwart the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The motion, reported by Politico, argued that the leading GOP presidential candidate is being unfairly targeted and the American people deserve the opportunity to witness the proceedings.
“The prosecution wishes to continue this travesty in darkness. President Trump calls for sunlight,” Lauro and Blanche wrote. “Every person in America, and beyond, should have the opportunity to study this case firsthand and watch as, if there is a trial, President Trump exonerates himself of these baseless and politically motivated charges.”
The five-page filing didn’t mince words in criticizing the DOJ, accusing it of orchestrating the case behind closed doors.
“For the first time in American history, an incumbent administration has charged its main, leading electoral opponent with a criminal offense,” Trump’s attorney added. “Aware that its charges are meritless, the prosecution has sought to proceed in secret, forcing the nation and the world to rely on biased, secondhand accounts coming from the Biden Administration and its media allies.”
Earlier this week, Special Counsel Jack Smith pushed back against such requests, citing a court rule that prohibits the broadcast of criminal court proceedings
Smith, through assistant special counsels James Pearce and John Pellettieri, argued that the exposure of witnesses and participants to threats.
“Paired with the ever-increasing acrimony in public discourse, witnesses and others who appear on video may be subjected to threats and harassment,” Pearce and Pellettieri wrote in a filing, as reported by Politico.