Courtroom photo ban adds to hurdles for Trump trial journalists

On Thursday morning, the photographers covering the Donald Trump hush money trial in Lower Manhattan got an unpleasant surprise.

A court officer — conveying the decision of Justice Juan M. Merchan — met them in the hallway to inform them that they would no longer be allowed into the courtroom for the brief minutes they had been granted each morning to take photos of the former president seated at the defense table. Rather than taking photos from the front of the room, at least one photographer had broken the rules by snapping a shot from beside the table.

It was the latest example of the restrictions that have hampered media coverage of the trial — one of the most significant court cases in U.S. legal or political history — frustrating journalists and concerning press freedom advocates who have pushed for greater access.

The court officer did not identify the offending photographer, but at least two photos taken that morning featured side angles of Trump.

Press advocates are objecting to the judge’s decision.

“Judge Merchan’s collective punishment of the press for a technical violation by one individual is an unnecessary and harmful overreaction,” said Seth Stern, director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation. “It’s the public that will ultimately suffer by having a less complete picture of this extremely newsworthy trial of a former president and current presidential candidate. He should reconsider and quickly rescind this anti-transparency ruling.”

As of Friday afternoon, efforts are being made to determine whether the matter can be resolved before next week’s trial sessions. Court public information officer Al Baker said on Friday that “conversations are continuing,” according to a pool report sent to trial reporters.

“It’s not surprising that the judge in a case like this would be pretty strict about enforcing whatever rules he’s put in place with members of media,” said Katie Townsend, deputy executive for Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “But I’d like to think that the court could take a step back and think overall about the impact on the public of punishing everyone for the actions of one photographer.”

Throughout the case, broadcast news outlets have struggled to capture the proceedings. New York judges have typically been reluctant to permit live TV feeds, and Merchan last year declined a request from media organizations to make an exception for this case. Instead, networks have relied on reporters in both the courtroom and an overflow room to send updates that are shared in text on the screen or read aloud by anchors and reporters.

“There is no logical reason why at this point in the 21st century this case should not be televised live, except for archaic New York State judicial regulations that prohibit it,” said Dan Shelley, president of the Radio Television Digital News Association. “The real losers here in this lack of transparency are the American people and particular those who intend to vote in November.”

Trump’s criminal trial in Georgia will be televised, though with courts agreeing to hear his appeal of pretrial rulings, it is unclear whether it will start before the election.

Still, many journalists say access has been more than sufficient — at least for print reporting. “A piece of cake,” said one veteran court reporter, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to comment. Unlike past cases in the same court, including the prosecution of Harvey Weinstein in 2020, reporters have been able to post from the actual courtroom, rather than having to do so from an overflow room or the hallway.

Those involved credit lawyers from the firm of Davis Wright Tremaine, which represents a consortium of media organizations (including The Washington Post), with helping to successfully negotiate media access, as well as the court’s public information officer.

And although networks cannot broadcast the case, they have been able to take video of Trump’s hallway comments before court goes into session and sometimes after. At the same time, online news organizations have covered the case in bite-size updates using live blogs and other real-time publishing formats.

The overflow room of about 114 seats — beyond the approximately 65 reserved for journalists in the courtroom — has allowed more reporters to cover the case. Access to the courthouse has been organized and smooth, particularly in contrast to Trump’s arraignment in April 2023, which was “very, very, very chaotic,” another reporter said.

Another small victory: Reporters are able to bring their lunches into court, though they can’t eat them inside the courtroom or overflow.

Two reporters, including New York magazine’s Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi, have already been expelled for taking photos from the overflow room, in violation of court rules. (Nuzzi did not comment.) Still, journalist infractions have been few and far between.

Although trial exhibits and session transcripts are published online quickly, some reporters have complained about the court’s document filing system, which they describe as technologically inefficient. “The inaccessibility of filings is a pretty frequent complaint,” said the reporter, who was not authorized to comment. “The WiFi in the building is also quite slow,” the person said.

While the press corps has largely acclimated to the restrictions, this reporter yearns for greater access. “I’m a First Amendment fundamentalist, and I think everything should be live-streamed and we should get everything for free. By those standards, it’s not great.”

Shelley argued that, overall, journalists “are doing an excellent job given the limitations and the circumstances under which they’re forced to work.”

Photographers are still allowed to take photos of Trump as he walks in and out of the courtroom, but the in-room ban will deprive news organizations of the images they most prize: Trump sitting with his lawyers, his body language and facial expressions offering fodder for analytical commentary on his state of mind.

And yet, one reporter questioned the value of such in-court photos: Trump’s appearance, they noted, barely changes from day to day.

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