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But the atmosphere changed abruptly at 2:45 p.m. A court official announced that the closed-circuit camera, which piped the hearing into a fifth-floor jury assembly room taken over for the day by the news media, had been turned on. The former president stiffened and stared directly into the camera, as if to recognize the power of the lens.
Mr. Trump, who liked to appear at the White House flanked by flags, often in front of the presidential seal, found himself on the opposite end of the visual on Tuesday. Judge Goodman sat atop a marble dais, elevated several feet above everybody else, next to an American flag in the largest, most modern hearing room in the Wilkie D. Ferguson courthouse.
It is not clear how long Mr. Trump and his co-defendant, Walt Nauta, spent in the courtroom after being booked and electronically fingerprinted by U.S. marshals in the building earlier. But the nation’s 45th president was sitting at his table, along with dozens of court and security workers, when reporters were led into the room shortly after 2:40 p.m.
Most of the substance of the hearing centered on the details of the bond agreement for Mr. Trump. Mr. Smith’s senior prosecutors waived demands for bail, or any other precondition that might be deemed as undignified or overly restrictive. They insisted that Mr. Trump not discuss the case with Mr. Nauta, who remains on the former president’s payroll as a personal aide.
Judge Goodman pressed for a tougher deal, suggesting that Mr. Trump be blocked from having any contact at all with important witnesses. His lawyers responded that the witnesses included people on Mr. Trump’s personal staff and security detail, and that it was not realistic to ask him to cut off contact with them.
The prosecution appeared willing to go along. David Harbach, one of Mr. Smith’s senior prosecutors, asked the court to let the two sides work out the details at a later date. Two earlier drafts of a bond agreement had already been discarded, but a third draft of the deal was printed and Mr. Trump signed it. “Third time’s the charm,” Judge Goodman said.
The judge seemed to be the only participant who appeared truly relaxed, perhaps because he was the only one walking away from the case. Another magistrate judge will preside over preliminary hearings before Judge Aileen M. Cannon takes over for the trial.
“The good news is it will not be me,” Judge Goodman said just before dismissing the parties.
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