Donald Trump Gives His Attorney a Message During Hearing

Former President Donald Trump was seen giving messages to his attorney during a critical hearing for his classified documents case.

Throughout Thursday's hearing in Florida, Trump was seen whispering into the ears of his lawyers, Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche. Sitting between the two attorneys, Trump followed the arguments closely, occasionally remarking to Kise or Blanche as the hearing unfolded.

"During the hearing, Trump spoke intently with his defense attorney Todd Blanche at different moments," NBC News' Katherine Doyle described the scene at the courthouse. "Sometimes he would lean forward toward the judge, his arms crossed. At other times, Trump pushed his back against the seat.

District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, is hearing arguments on motions seeking to dismiss the charges in the Mar-a-Lago case. Trump's team argues that the case should be dismissed because under the Presidential Records Act (PRA), which the former president claims allowed him to take classified documents with him when he left the White House. The Justice Department, on the other hand, has urged Cannon to reject Trump's claims.

Trump faces 40 criminal charges related to his alleged mishandling of the documents, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and willful retention of national defense information. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied any wrongdoing.

Before breaking for lunch, Trump reportedly stared down Special Counsel Jack Smith, who also attended the hearing and made brief glances in Trump's direction on Thursday. The former president had attacked Smith as "out to murder" and "deranged" in a pre-taped Newsmax interview that aired on the eve of the hearing.

At one point in the hearing, while Cannon and prosecuting attorney Jay Bratt discussed the retention charge, Trump was seen whispering several times into Blanche's ear. Blanche reportedly responded by chuckling or smiling.

Trump's attorneys have argued that the law is not only "unconstitutionally vague," making it unclear for Trump to know if he was doing something illegal. They have also argued that the documents in question were Trump's personal records. So, he could hold onto them even upon leaving the White House.

During the hearing, Blanche told the court that "presidents since George Washington have taken materials out of the White House" at "their own discretion."

But Cannon seemed skeptical, telling Blanche: "It's difficult to see how this gets you to the dismissal of an indictment." She added that those claims would effectively "gut the PRA altogether."

"Your arguments might have some force, again, as it comes to a trial defense," she said.

The trial is scheduled to begin May 20, but Cannon is expected to delay the start date.

When the prosecution presented its rebuttal, attorney David Harback began by saying: "The documents charged in the indictment are not personal records. Period. They are nowhere close to that."