questions from a probation officer, paving the way for his july sentencing. everything about it, from the timing to the topics may be standard for a convicted felon but is unlike anything trump has ever faced. so how will he handle it? how could what happens today move the needle for judge juan merchan as he makes the decision on whether trump will actually serve time? closing arguments under way right now in hunter biden's trial. it is getting interesting. potentially paving the way for jury deliberations later today. could today also be verdict day for the first child of a sitting president tried on felony charges. secretary of state antony blinken pointing the finger squarely at hamas insisting they are the only ones standings in the way of a peace plan that could bring the israeli hostages home and end the war in gaza for good. how can he say that when it's still not clear if prime minister benjamin netanyahu is actually on board? so a very busy monday. we start with donald trump's legal drama shifting dramatically into the post conviction phase. a key step towards answering the politically explosive question of whether he could actually go to jail for his crimes. nbc news has learned trump and his lawyer, todd blanche will sit for a probation hearing today, giving the probation officer the chance to ask trump everything from his finances to his mental state, even his level of remorse or lack thereof. all that goes into a report for judge merchan who will decide trump's sentence next month. the maximum, four years in prison, is theoretically on the table. i have pa great group v group in studio to talk about it. nbc's vaughn hillyard hars been following trump on the xain trail. msnbc legal correspondent lisa rubin was in court for the trial itself. former federal prosecutor kristy greenberg, former chief of the criminal division and msnbc legal analyst. what do we know exactly about what's happening today? >> at some point this afternoon donald trump virtually from mar-a-lago will be sitting with a new york probation officer who is going to be the one to ultimately file a report he delivers to judge merchan ahead of the july 11th sentencing. as part of this interview, this is an opportunity for donald trump to lay out his background, the fact he has no criminal convictions on his record previously. he's able to go through and answer questions that provide insight to the probation officer to the extend of his financial background, his mental state. these are questions donald trump has largely answered from the campaign stage like he did in las vegas, nevada, at a campaign event. this is a private one-on-one setting where he's next to todd blanche, his attorney, able to make his case. the extent to which he may not regret the actions that led to that guilty conviction, but at least lay out the extent to which he is knowledgeable about what was laid out against him and why he was found guilty. >> given the stakes, do we know anything about any preparation he may have done? todd blanche had said i think the day of the conviction that he was going to be heading down to mar-a-lago. has he been down there working with him? >> todd blanche was not -- i was on the campaign trail with with him over the last five days, i didn't see him. he did, however, fly out yesterday afternoon from nevada back to florida, so he would have returned by the early evening hours. he's had plenty of time to theerette cli since his conviction almost two weeks ago to be working through and having conversations. >> kristy, this is not a part of the process we pay a lot of attention to. was this probation officer, reported as a woman, chosen at random? number two, what's this like? >> unclear exactly how this probation officer was chosen. i mean i would expect this is an experienced probation officer, somebody who has handled high-profile cases in the past. again, even that probation officer's recommendation will have to be reviewed by superiors. presumably this is going up to the top of the probation office. what can we expect? we can expect he'll go through this interview and he'll try with his lawyer, todd blanche, to portray the best possible picture of himself that he can to this probation officer. again, highlighting things like his lack of criminal history, contributions he's made in business in new york. he will point to the fact that he was president of the united states and he served in that office and he could potentially be the future president of the united states. he'll point to all of those things as reason for why a lenient sentence is appropriate. again, i think there are responses to each of those for why actually jail should be the sentence here, but for the purpose of this interview, this is donald trump and his lawyer's chance to make their best case to probation because that recommendation will be viewed by the judge in determining what the sentence will be. >> will this ultimately be part of the public record, lisa? will we get to see what this is like? anybody who has ever interviewed donald trump can attest to this, sometimes it's a little hard to follow and follow up. so what do you make of what's probably going to be happening sometime this afternoon? >> i will tell you that the law and regulations surrounding these types of reports say that the public does not have access to them, that the judge gets them, the prosecutor gets them, the defendant and the defendant's attorney gets them. then there's a very small list of other people who are eligible to get them, sometimes depending on, for exam, does the defendant have a mental health problem that would justify providing the report to a mental health practitioner or doctor. in the ordinary course, the public never sees them. there's one thing about the law and regulations that is very unclear. i mentioned the defendant himself can get the report. what happens if donald trump decides he wants to provide the report to everyone and their mother? there's nothing in the law and regulations, as i read them, that prevents him from doing so. >> have you ever seen that happen? >> i've never seen that happen. >> which doesn't mean anything with donald trump. >> everything here is sue generals. one o of the things i want to make clear is why todd blanche wants to be there. that's because in new york part of the process for the presentence investigation report is to get a statement from the defendant. that statement from the defendant can include the explanation for why they committed the crime, how they see what has been ajudged to be a crime. their version of events. if i'm todd blanche, knowing what legal issues donald trump faces in the future in other cases, i want to make sure my client sticks very closely to a very tight statement if he gives one at all. the regulations also say if the defendant declines to make a statement about the offense, that goes into the report as well. >> so once this is done, it goes to the judge, alvin bragg separately is making a determination, right, for his own recommendation? so there will be a recommendation from the probation team, probation officer, it's not going to be one person signing off on a recommendation and that's separate from the da? >> yes. we will expect, i think it's this thursday where donald trump's sentencing memo and their recommendation for what they want to have happen at sentencing will be made public, will be filed, and then on i believe it's june 27th when we will see what the prosecutors are recommending. they get to go second and see what the defense is recommending. presumably the parties will see what probation is recommending. i think the point lisa made about whether or not this is ever going to be made public is important here because the defendant can make it public. if he does so and this is a probation officer who recommends a not-so-lenient sentence, there could be a target on this probation officer. >> so the name of the probation officer would be on it? >> yes. that would be -- the question would be whether or not that would be something they would redact or maybe in this unique circumstance this would be something where it's a recommendation from the department and not a particular officer. i don't know -- that's not typically what it is. maybe they would make a different accommodation here given, again, the fact that if this probation officer recommends a jail sentence and that becomes public, now this person has to deal with all of the threats that we've seen towards the jury, towards the judge, towards the prosecutor. so it is a very fraught situation i think. >> can i add something quickly? the fact that donald trump can make this report public doesn't mean that judge merchan would look kindly on it. if donald trump were to make this report public and put people in the probation department at risk, look that to be another factor that merchan might cite in determining a harsher rather than lenient sentence is deserved here. that, too, would show a lack of contrition and lack of responsibility for the public's safety and accountability to the community. >> let me go back to d.a. alvin brag. he'll be recommending, assuming we don't get the name of the probation officer wii you would hope not, you can read his possibilities as a lose-lose. on one hand, he came in as a reformer. he's got a 77-year-old first-time non-violent offender. so that would argue against jail and also the argument that it could cause incitement problems, but not doing it is not going to make his base happy, not going to make manhattanites that we know voted almost exclusively for joe biden in the last election happen. my question is, can you really put the high-profile nature of this aside if you're alvin bragg when making this recommendation? >> i think he has to. he has to focus on what are the factors apt sentencing. the nature and seriousness of this conduct, the fact that he was falsifying these business records to cover up election interference. in terms of a false business records case that's come through new york courts, election interference is about as serious as it gets. the fact that he was falsifying and signing those checks from the oval office makes it all the more serious. yes, he's a first-time offender? do you know who else was a first-time offender? michael cohen. he went to jail for this very conduct and was less culpable than drum who directed him to do it. donald trump is 77 years old. allen weisselberg is in jail right now and he's 81. it's not unheard of that this team of prosecutors would say somebody who is old, somebody who is a first-time offender, somebody who doesn't have this kind of criminal record should be put in prison because of the seriousness of the conduct and the gag orders. >> and the gag orders. >> ten and counting. >> that's the other thing, could there be violations between now and when juan merchan makes his decision? you talked to voters. you mentioned you've been out with him for the last five days. what are they telling you about all this? >> i was at his campaign event in las vegas. it was triple digits. a couple thousand people were there to back him up. of course, these are his most loyal voters. let's be clear about that. what strikes me is almost every single person that i talked to has an understanding of what donald trump has articulated about the case, almost echoing his own talking points in defense, targeting judge merchan's daughter, matthew colangelo who came from the department of justice to join the district attorney's office. donald trump every day he left the courthouse repeated these talking points. that trickled down to his reporters all the way out west. take a listen. >> i think he should obey the law, no matter what happens. i think he would obey the law. if he's forced to go to prison, he'll go to prison and serve his time and we will vote him into office despite that. >> gilbert was an interesting voice there. i sigh what do you do in response to the sentence that comes down? there was deiance that says play ball with the system put in place here and then beat them in november. that was the message i got from a number of his most loyal supporters. >> vaughn and elise, thank you for being here. in 90 seconds, closing arguments in the hunter biden trial are under way. the prosecution admits the evidence was personal, ugly and overwhelming. why they also say it was absolutely necessary. we're live outside the courthouse in wilmington after this. the courthouse in wilmington after this it's good to get some fresh air. fresh air? hi guys! bill, you look great! now that i have inspire, i'm free from struggling with the mask and the hose. inspire? inspire is a sleep apnea treatment that works inside my body with a click of this button. no mask! no hose! just sleep. give me this thing. where are you going? i'm going to get inspire. inspire. sleep apnea innovation. learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com. nothing dims my light like a migraine. with nurtec odt, i found relief. the only migraine medication that helps treat and prevent, all in one. to those with migraine, i see you. for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. don't take if allergic to nurtec odt. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. it's time we all shine. talk to a healthcare provider about nurtec odt from pfizer. - so this is pickleball? - pickle! ah, these guys are intense. with e*trade from morgan stanley, we're ready for whatever gets served up. dude, you gotta work on your trash talk. i'd rather work on saving for retirement. or college, since you like to get schooled. that's a pretty good burn, right? literally just in the past minute or two the defense has begun following a prosecution that finished up with its last chance to convince hunter biden's jury that he's guilty. he's in a courtroom filled with rows of biden's family and friends. in his closing, leah watts told the jury people sitting in the gallery are not evidence. this has been an emotional trial from the start, unfolding not only in front of the jury, but in front of the eyes of hunter biden's mother, first lady jill biden, other members of the family. some of the closest people in the biden circle. our team inside the courthouse says today's show of force is no different with the women in his family all seated side-by-side and directly behind hunter biden. as for the president, he's back in wilmington today, marking the first time he's been in the city since the start of his son's trial. nbc's ken dilanian reports outside the courtroom. kristy greenberg is with us. closing arguments have begun. tell us what we've heard so far. >> reporter: lead prosecuor leahwise nodded to the people sitting in the courtroom, many of whom are familiar to these delaware jury roors. he said these people you may know from the news or the community, but this is not evidence. he said just as he said at the beginning of the trial, no one is above the law. that was nod to the prominence of hunter biden. he talked about some of the painful and sorted evidence he had to put on in this case. he said the evidence was personal, it was ugly, it was overwhelming. he added it was also absolutely necessary to prove that hunter biden was using drugs at the time that he purchased this gun unlawfully. he said that there's a raft of evidence. he went through some of what was introduced during trial. the overview is that hunter biden began using drugs years before he used the gun and there's evidence he continued using drugs for months afterwards. the prosecution wanted to hone in on the few weeks before he bought the gun and right when he owned it. there's lots of evidence he was texting with drug dealers during that time including the day after he purchased the gun. he's texting with a man named mookie in wilmington, delaware. and then the following day he texts his daughter that he's lying on a car smoking crack. that's not smoking gun evidence. that's not a photo, that's not direct testimony. but it's a text message from his own words. the prosecution made a lot out of that. he also attacked the defense notion that he wasn't knowing, that he didn't lie on the form knowingly, he didn't consider himself a drug user. he said that belies common sense given all the evidence. the defense is under way, will attack the arguments. this afternoon the case will go to the jury. >> kristy, the words personal, ugly, overwhelming, but it was absolutely necessary. is the prosecution right about that? >> well, i guess taking a step back i don't think it was absolutely necessary for this to be charged at all. this is -- these charges as a stand-alone prosecution are virtually unheard of. usually, if you see a charge of lying on a federal form or to a gun dealer about your drug use, usually it's coming along with having used that gun as part of a crime, for somebody who is a convicted felon, who has a history of violence. usually it's something part of something much more substantial. i can say i was not only a violent crimes prosecutor, but i supervised that unit. i can't think of a time where we ever charged that as a stand alone because, frankly, it doesn't feel right to do it. you're using somebody's own words -- in this trial you've seen it. using somebody's own words about their addiction against them when there really hasn't been any harm to anybody but the addict. in this case he had the gun for 11 days. so i would expect the defense to really kind of focus on some of those other factors. we're talking about 11 days, nobody got hurt here, to really aim for jury nullification. i agree with what ken was saying, the evidence that hunter biden was using drugs at the time based on the witness testimony, based on the text messages, is pretty overwhelming. the idea that he wouldn't have known that he was using does seem to be a stretch. i think if you're the defense, you're hoping for jury nullification. >> it is interesting as i read our document that the first thing that the prosecutor talked about was all those family members, all those friends. they have been a constant, as i said. people sitting in the gallery are not evidence said leah wise. you may recognize them from the news or from the community, but respectfully, none of that matters. what does that tell you about his concern about -- i guess you could call it a show of force, in addition to a show of support? >> he's right to be concerned about it. i don't think him saying that it's not evidence is really going to matter because the jury has clearly seen them day in and day out. they've seen the support they have for this defendant. again, this is in stark contrast to the trial that we just saw with donald trump where you didn't see many family members. it was sporadic when people would show up. here it's been every day, you've seen multiple family members showing up. it also shows they're supporting him in his jury as an addict, makes him sympathetic as someone trying to overcome their addiction and get sober. >> we know there are a number of people on the jury who said very up front before they were chosen for this jury that they knew people including family members, who had gone through the same struggles. >> absolutely, absolutely. so there is a human element here that just because it is not from witness testimony or from a document, there's a human element here that is going to appeal to this jury i think -- it would appeal to me as a person watching this to see that level of support. >> kristy greenberg, ken dilanian, thank you both. up next, secretary blinken in the middle east following that major shakeup in the israeli government. what he just told our andrea mitchell about the cease-fire proposal. we'll h