Trump trial: Why can’t Americans see or hear what is going on inside the courtroom?

By DAVID BAUDER
AP Media Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s a moment in history. For the first time, a former U.S. president is facing criminal charges in an American courtroom. Yet as coverage of that case began Monday, the nation had to rely on secondhand accounts of what was done and said in a Manhattan courtroom. That’s because the case is governed by New York state rules on electronic media coverage of courts, and they remain among the most restrictive in the nation. That forced news organizations covering the case to improvise to keep those watching informed. The scene outside the courtroom Monday was judged to be a “circus” by one network anchor who struggled to be heard above traffic sounds.