Before leaving after hearing arguments this morning, Trump looked around the room and with his lips pursed, eyed special counsel Jack Smith. He looked left to co-defendant Walt Nauta and gave a slight nod. He rarely looked around the room otherwise, instead looking at Judge Cannon, sometimes with his head cocked, such as when there was a discussion of Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified documents or John Brennan’s security clearance.
As he got up to leave, standing and beginning to walk toward a side exit, Trump leaned on the prosecutors’ table almost as if losing his step briefly.
During the hearing, Trump spoke intently with his defense attorney Todd Blanche at different moments. Sometimes he would lean forward toward the judge, his arms crossed. At other times, Trump pushed his back against the seat.
Jack Smith, seated on a bench behind prosecuting attorneys Jay Bratt and David Harbach, made very brief, frequent glances around the room in Trump’s direction and toward the judge. He looked up as Trump’s attorney Emil Bove argued that Clinton was not prosecuted for her handling of classified documents.
Before the start of the hearing, court staff brought in additional chairs for the defense table.