NEW YORK – Acting New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan said in his Monday night order that the media’s request to broadcast the arraignment of former President Donald Trump was understandable.
However, he said that news organizations’ interests in having the broadest possible access to the proceedings must be weighed against “competing interests”.
Merchan rejected the request to broadcast the arraignment live on television, but he still wrote about the historical significance of the proceeding in stark terms.
Earlier, Alina Habba, who represented Trump in several civil matters, spent time with the former president in New York on Monday and said, “He’s in good spirits. Honestly, he’s as he normally would be. He’s ready to go in and do what he needs to do tomorrow.”
When asked about the “game plan” for Trump’s appearance in court in Manhattan Tuesday, Habba told Fox News, “It’s all mapped out.”
She added, “Barring any surprises, I think that it should be smooth. We’re trying to coordinate and cooperate with everybody to make sure that there are no problems.”
On whether Trump can get a fair trial in Manhattan, Habba said, “No, no. I think it’s very difficult. I’d like to have faith in this state, but I’ve been practicing for him now for a couple years and gone to court in New York for a few years, and I can tell you, it’s not the same as representing anybody else.”
Earlier in the day, a plane carrying Trump flew from a Florida airport bound for New York City as he prepared to face charges stemming from an investigation into hush money paid to a porn star before the 2016 election.
