Trump squeezes his trials for political gain before the possibility of millions of dollars in fines

He hunched his shoulders in front of a microphone to berate the judge in front of him. The judge started a timer on his phone, and Donald Trump exhaled a minutes-long, unbroken sentence of worn-out grievances.

These calculated in-court outbursts are now a routine part of what will be many more months of courtroom appearances for the former president, whose campaign for the presidency relies on his legal challenges to cast himself as a victim of a political deep state that he’s running against.

To Mr Trump, the justice system is illegitimate when his livelihood is at stake. The judges, prosecutors, court staff and people suing him are Democratic stooges working together across jurisdictions to wage lawfare against him, and he’s either innocent of allegations against him or deserves immunity from prosecution, he says.

Mr Trump and his attorneys have repeatedly defied courtroom instructions and gag orders because they see routine boundaries as politically motivated and illegal. The courtrooms become extensions of his campaign rally stages. When evidence is presented against him, Mr Trump and his lawyers offer distractions with dubious court filings, in-court arguments and out-of-court tantrums to reclaim headlines.

Alina Habba, an attorney for a Trump-affiliated political action committee, was flailing in federal court this week while defending the former president against a multi-million dollar defamation claim. But the defence from Ms Habba and other attorneys for Mr Trump isn’t meant for the courtroom, nor is their performance for the judge and jury. It’s for an audience that’s not there, and their value is political, not legal.

E. Jean Carroll testifies as former U.S. President Donald Trump watches

“Given the weakness