RCFP asks New York court to provide remote access to hearings concerning book by president’s niece
Update: A public information officer for the New York State Unified Court system informed the Reporters Committee on July 7 that the judge plans to decide the case without holding a hearing. If that changes, he said, the court “would either make a Skype link available or stream the proceeding.”
On July 7, 2020, the Reporters Committee sent a letter to a New York state judge requesting that his court provide remote public access to any hearing concerning the book written by President Trump’s niece.
“The reporters committee understands that the Court is likely to conduct any such hearing remotely, in light of Covid-19 precautionary measures, making it impossible for members of the press and public to attend in person,” the letter to Justice Hal B. Greenwald states. “However, the public need not — and should not — be excluded from the proceeding.”
The book, titled “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” has garnered significant public attention because it offers a first-hand account of the president’s behavior, from the perspective of one of his family members. President Trump’s brother, Robert S. Trump is attempting to prevent his niece, Mary Trump, and Simon & Schuster from publishing the book.
On June 30, the Reporters Committee filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the New York state court, urging it to reject Robert Trump’s unconstitutional attempt to prevent the publication of the book. The next day, a New York appellate court ruled that Simon & Schuster can move forward with the book pending a hearing, reversing a lower court decision that temporarily halted its publication.