I arrived at the line-up area at 6:30 am in hopes of getting into the actual courtroom. I drew the folks above who stood in the line for the public, adjacent to me. It was a long wait, but the weather was nice. I saw no Trump supporters, even up until we were led in to the building.
Here’s another sketch from my iPhone.
Again, with our hall passes in hand, we were led into the building. I thought I’d show you a photo, as a drawing would not really be clear (and too hard to draw!).
Ever since my last trip to this courthouse on Tuesday, I wanted to draw the hallway outside the courtroom where Trump is on trial. You may be aware that this is where he walks before he goes into the courtroom, and where he gives his mini speeches before and after court each day. I was amused by how the cinematographers are cordoned off in a tiny area, some sitting on the floor, as they wait for Trump. This drawing was done from memory because the cops won’t let you linger in the hall. The ladies’ room is just beyond where Trump stands, where I have drawn the police in this sketch.
Once in the overflow room (that’s right, my early arrival did no good!), I drew the rows of the public, sitting opposite the journalists section where I was seated. Who are these people, why do they want to be here?
Before the proceedings each day, photographers are allowed in to take shots of Trump and his lawyers. I watched this happen on the large monitor in our room, and today I noticed how posed Trump and Todd Blanche were in front of the cameras.
Here are some selected sketches from during the trial:
After Ms. Longstreet, we were treated to the testimony of former Trump Press Secretay Hope Hicks. It had been a somewhat soporific morning until this moment. Hicks is one of the major witnesses everyone was waiting for. She was still on the stand when we broke for lunch, and I assume she’ll testify for a few days. When I left, the prosecution was just questioning her about her knowledge of the Access Hollywood Tape, Stormy Daniels and Trump’s alleged affairs. It was getting very interesting. At the beginning of her testimony, Hicks was given the opportunity to frequently praise Trump, yet she is here to testify against him.
When the Access Hollywood tape was mentioned, she tensed up. They could not play the tape, the Judge ruled against that, but it was read by all on a transcript— it still is shocking, and Hicks said as much. I wonder if it was the moment was began to question who her boss was.
I am watching the courtroom from a monitor, and it is pretty far from me. I saw one journalist with binoculars in order to see expressions more clearly. I watch body language and even color— today I noticed that compared to his lawyers, Trump’s face was more orange than usual during Hick’s testimony.
We took a break and I went into the infamous hallway towards the ladies’ room. The main trial room was also emptying for a break, and I spotted Anderson Cooper. This drawn from memory.
I saw the court artists in the bathroom, one was washing her pastel covered hands, the other was taking a photo of a section of one of her drawings. I complimented her on her art, she said thanks,
It’s fun being surrounded by the press. I chatted with a legal expert from MSNBC, Lisa Ruben, and I saw other tv journalists and NY Times reporters whom I recognize, like Jonah Bromwich and Maggie Haberman. When a witness said something that was at all derogatorily humorous in the direction of Trump, it was the section of the public whom you could hear laugh. None of the journalists around me betrayed any opinion.
Finally, unsure of what else to draw, I drew what I saw just to my right. All the press around me were constantly typing, furiously. A line of
hands, on computers. As we stood to go to lunch, the woman next to me asked me, with a bit of glee in her voice, are you a cartoonist? I said yes. She said she thought it was great I was the only one not furiously typing.
I am happy about that too. I wonder why we don’t have more visual journalists?
Thanks for being here. See you tomorrow.
Wonderful, Lisa! I almost feel like I’m there!
This again really great!! Just like we are there!