(NewsNation) — Closing arguments begin Tuesday morning in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial after 20 days full of tension and testimony followed by news conferences in a dimly lit, stuffy hallway.
Each day during the five week trial, beginning with jury selection, Trump has taken to the courthouse hallway to deliver remarks at the beginning and end of each court day, steps outside the courtroom where proceedings took place.
Flanked by his lead attorney Todd Blanche, Trump looks into the camera behind the waist-high metal barricades, frequently using his time to criticize President Joe Biden on a range of topics including the economy, immigration and Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
In the last week, Trump has consulted his attorneys as well as a large stack of papers before delivering his hallway remarks. He’s also been seen at the defense table reading articles from various outlets, which criticize the trial’s credibility as well as the judge, jury and those prosecuting the former president.
Trump’s team called the trial an “unconstitutional partisan Witch Hunt” in a statement to NewsNation.
“The Biden Democrats will soon come face to face with the American electorate whose tolerance for leftist ideologies and the failed Biden presidency has worn thin. The truth is on President Trump’s side and he will prevail.”
The former president is under a strict gag order, which bars him from speaking about the judge, jury and those testifying in the case.
That hasn’t stopped Trump though, he has been fined $10,000 for 10 separate gag order violations and has toed the line when it comes to what he can and cannot say in regard to the case. Additionally, he opted not to take the witness stand in his own defense, despite doing so in his civil fraud trial.
NewsNation has confirmed that Todd Blanche will deliver closing arguments Tuesday morning for the defense.