Inside the '11-hour journey' of covering the Trump hush money trial

20 May 2024

Although cameras are not allowed in the Lower Manhattan courtroom where Donald Trump's hush money/falsified business records trial is being held, many reporters have been offering real-time coverage of the testimony and describing, in intricate detail, the questioning of Michael Cohen, adult film star Stormy Daniels and other witnesses.

Washington Post reporters Devlin Barrett and Shayna Jacobs, in an article published on May 19, describe what it's likely covering a trial that is unprecedented in U.S. history: the criminal trial of a former president who is also the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee.

"You pack for a day at Donald Trump's trial like you're going on a long hike to nowhere," the journalists explain. "Water, food, binoculars, laptop, mobile wireless and a big, big battery — you need all of that for an 11-hour journey in which you are mostly just sitting and typing. The first five weeks of Trump's trial for allegedly falsifying records related to a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels have been fascinating, surreal and tiring. We've written news stories, analyses, live updates and takeaways."

Barrett explains that when he's covering the trial, he typically arrives at the Lower Manhattan courtroom by 6 a.m.

"Sometimes, we hire people to stand in line earlier to ensure we get in," Barrett notes. "I don't want just a seat; I want a good seat. I want to be able to see, hear and even smell as much as possible."

Jacobs points out that she gets up at 5 a.m. or 5:30 a.m.

"That alarm kicks off the checklist routine of gathering coffee (multiple travel mugs), a laptop, several press IDs, two spare batteries and chargers, various other chargers, and multiple stainless steel water bottles because there is no safe drinking water available at the Manhattan criminal courthouse at 100 Centre Street," Jacobs explains. "I rarely have time to pack food, which means I'm having a Kind bar for lunch because attempting to leave the courthouse — or even getting to a vending machine — would significantly complicate the afternoon courtroom entry process."

The Lower Manhattan courthouse has extensive security that reporters covering the trial need to go through.

"I'm not going to say much about the security setup, because that tends to defeat the point of a security process," Barrett writes. "It is thorough, and can take about 15 minutes to get through the multiple stages of screening."

According to Jacobs, "This is a security system tailored to the Trump trial, highly unusual for any proceeding in state court. Much of it has been mapped out from scratch. Manhattan court officers — and some on loan from other boroughs — have done a very good job of running the show and keeping people safe."

Read the full Washington Post article at this link (subscription required).

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