Grassley joins Erika Kirk in calling for cameras in courtroom, says all courts should have them

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Tuesday joined Erika Kirk in calling for cameras in the courtroom for the trial of her husband's alleged murderer, adding that all courts should have them for transparency.

"I want to complement [sic] Erika Kirk, wife of assassinated conservative leader Charlie Kirk," Grassley said on the Senate floor, referring to the Turning Point USA founder who was killed at Utah Valley University in September. "She has made an emotional appeal to have cameras in the courtroom at the trial of her husband’s murderer. I commend her for this brave plea, because it fits in with a stand I’ve been taking for the last couple of decades.

"Courts at both the state and federal level have a massive impact on our daily lives and the lives of generations to come, yet few Americans get the chance to see the nation’s courts in action," he said. "That’s almost totally true of federal courts. I believe most states do allow cameras in the courtroom, although [it’s] not necessarily required under state procedure in state courtrooms.

"I’ve long held the view that cameras should be present in the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, because what I said about state courts is not yet a requirement in federal courts. Cameras would boost transparency and [help] Americans grow in confidence and understanding of the judiciary if we had cameras in the federal courtrooms," Grassley continued.

"Now it’s been maybe a joke that a couple of Supreme Court justices have said having cameras in the Supreme Court would be over their 'dead body.' Now I don’t wish anybody at the federal court, whether they’re liberals or conservatives on that court, to pass because of cameras in the courtrooms. But I happen to believe that cameras in the federal courts, like state courts, would boost transparency and help Americans grow in confidence and understanding of the judiciary.

"When pivotal moments in history happen, we shouldn’t be timid in calling for greater transparency that history demands in the federal courts."

Kirk told Fox News host Jesse Watters in an interview set to air in full on Wednesday, “There were cameras all over my husband when he was murdered. There have been cameras all over my friends and family mourning. There have been cameras all over me, analyzing my every move, analyzing my every smile, my every tear.”

“We deserve to have cameras in there,” she said, The Hill news outlet reported.

Kirk's comments were in response to Watters asking her about defense attorneys for Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of assassinating her husband, requesting that cameras be banned from the high-profile court proceedings.

Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder and six other counts, and he is due back in court in January. Utah is seeking the death penalty in the case.

“Why not be transparent?” Kirk said. “There’s nothing to hide. I know there’s not, because I’ve seen what the case is built on.”