In court with Donald Trump, a man who knows his way around

The first time Donald Trump was arraigned on criminal charges, in New York in April, his face looked grey and he dragged his feet and expressed astonishment that he was there at all.

This time he faced graver charges — of conspiring to defraud the United States in relation to the 2020 election, including a count that carries 20 years in jail — yet there was a lightness to his movements.

In this, his third criminal arraignment in four months, he wore, besides the usual blue suit and red tie, the demeanour of a man who knew his way around a courtroom. The former president rose to his feet and stepped forward towards the bench.

Moxila Upadhyaya, the magistrate judge overseeing his arraignment in the