Former President Donald Trump, his campaign, and his legal team have long sought to blur the lines between politics and the law, but they are more aggressively litigating his defense against special counsel Jack Smith's case alleging he tried to overturn the 2020 election.
But although the strategy, including calling for cameras in the courtroom before Friday's hearing regarding restrictions the federal government is hoping to place on Trump, appears to be helping the former president amid the 2024 Republican presidential primary, it may hinder him in next year's general election.
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Trump's attorneys are publicly posturing concerning the unlikely prospect of Judge Tanya Chutkan permitting cameras in her Washington, D.C, federal courtroom as the former president seeks to undermine the government's case alleging he conspired to defraud the United States, obstructed an official proceeding and conspired to do so, and conspired to violate the public's right to vote.
"I’m convinced Biden administration does not want the American people to see the truth, and they acted on it by filing this protective order, which is an effort to keep important information about this case from the press," Trump lawyer John Lauro told Fox News last weekend. "I’m shocked actually that all the networks haven't lined up and filed pleadings already objecting to this — this very broad attempt by the Biden administration to keep information away from the American people during the election season."
Lauro's comments coalesce with counsel's disputed free speech defense as they seek to delay the trial before the judge, nominated by former President Barack Obama, and contend, more broadly, that the process has been politicized, despite federal courts traditionally being averse to cameras. Democrats, such as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), have also advocated both of Trump's federal trials, encompassing the classified documents case, to be televised in order to encourage public acceptance of the outcome.
"Given the historic national importance of these cases, the American people deserve to witness how the trials are conducted, the strength of the evidence, and the credibility of witnesses first-hand," Schiff wrote in an email-building note Wednesday.
Former George W. Bush-appointed Arkansas U.S. attorney Bud Cummins, who described the government's case as "an abuse of authority to persecute political opponents," underscored how cameras can "create a lot of chaos some judges are unable to control."
"Television will probably cut both ways," Cummins told the Washington Examiner. "At times, President Trump will come off as having used poor judgment for all to see. But it will be worse for the government, in my opinion."
"The government strained to creatively indict a former president," he said. "It will be hard for the government to put lipstick on this pig and hide the fact that the Biden administration is stretching to target and prosecute a political opponent."
Rutgers University history, journalism, and media studies professor David Greenberg was unsure whether a televised trial would help or hinder Trump, though he was more certain it would "become a media circus."
"A jury is still a jury and should be shielded from outside news so as not to be influenced," he said. "Trump has both supporters and detractors out there, so it’s unlikely that a televised trial would cause a groundswell either way."
For Northeastern University political science professor and chairman Costas Panagopoulos, Trump's trial by media strategy is likely to consolidate his base and boost his fundraising.
"It's a risky strategy, seemingly with more downside than upside," he said. "Trump lacks the discipline to avoid shooting himself in the foot when it comes to how things play out in court if he makes this a public matter."
Trump has a commanding lead in the primary, averaging 54% support, a 38 percentage point advantage over Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who is running second, but his post-indictment polling increases have been decreasing. Simultaneously, Trump's edge over President Joe Biden in a hypothetical rematch has disappeared since March when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged him with crimes related to hush money payments he made before the 2016 election. Biden is now ahead, 45% to 44%, according to RealClearPolitics.
In addition to fewer supporters outside the courthouses and online searches, Trump, too, is raising less money post-indictments. Trump raised $4 million from 80,000 unique donors through the Republican fundraising platform WinRed after the Manhattan charges but only $1.3 million from 35,000 contributors after he was arrested and arraigned in the federal classified documents case last June.
The government is seeking a protective order to restrict how Trump discusses evidence in the 2020 election case as Chutkan receives more security. Legal analyst Paul Henderson, Vice President Kamala Harris's former prosecution chief when she was San Francisco's district attorney, reiterated that the request is "absolute routine."
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"This case, in particular, deals with elected officials, official documents, privileged conversations, and protected communications, aside from ordinary evidence used in a 'normal' trial, meaning a heightened protective order is expected and necessary," Henderson said. "Beyond the bombastic claims being made about the prosecutor, the justice process, and the judge, Trump is already talking about his own commentary."
"If that harm to the public and potential jury pool weren't clear enough to measure a harm, Trump's lawyers appeared on no less than five public network shows, going over the details of the charges to address their opinions about both the case and the evidence," he added.