Fulton County judge says all Trump court proceedings will be televised

September 1, 2023

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said Thursday that all court proceedings in Georgia regarding former President Trump and his 18 co-defendants will be televised via live stream.

Trump is among 19 co-defendants who were indicted by a grand jury on charges related to the attempt to overturn Georgia’s 2020 Presidential election following a years-long investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. 

All 19 are facing racketeering charges. Trump is also facing an additional 12 criminal counts, including solicitation of violation of oath by public officer, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit false statements and writings, conspiracy to commit filing false documents, and conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree.

In an order issued Thursday, McAfee said all hearings and trials related to the case will be broadcast on the Fulton County Court YouTube channel. He further allowed members of the media to use computers and cellphones inside the courtroom for non-recording purposes during court proceedings. There will be pool coverage for television, radio and still photography.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump pleaded not guilty and waived his arraignment, as a handful of his co-defendants had already done, in order to avoid pleading in front of Fulton County courtroom cameras.

Willis previously scheduled all of the co-defendants’ arraignments for September 6. 

Also on Thursday Trump attorneys officially filed to sever the former President’s case after one of his co-defendants—attorney Kenneth Chesebro—received a “speedy trial” date of October 23, and Willis filed to move all the co-defendants’ trials to that date in order to prosecute her racketeering case en masse.

Last week, Trump turned himself in and, like all of his fellow co-defendants, had his mug shot taken. He also agreed to a $200,000 bond deal last week. 

PHOTO: Judge Scott McAfee, Superior Court of Fulton County

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