Donald Trump would have been treated differently during his historic arrest on Tuesday from normal defendants in order to defend the "dignity" of the United States presidency, a criminal defense attorney tells Newsweek.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records at a New York courtroom in relation to hush money he arranged for Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal to keep alleged affairs he had with the two women a secret prior to the 2016 election. He is the first U.S. president to be criminally charged.
Prior to Trump surrendering to authorities, there were reports of how the former president would be treated during the booking process. While Trump was fingerprinted following his arrest, he was not handcuffed or made to do a "perp walk" outside the court and was not kept in a holding cell ahead of his appearance in front of the judge.
It later emerged that Trump did not have a mug shot taken. There had already been accusations that the former president would receive special treatment while being criminally charged. Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Ambrosio Rodriguez told Newsweek that it was always going to be likely that the unprecedented booking process for a former president would differ from others.
Rodriguez explained that Trump wouldn't have needed to have his mug shot taken on Tuesday because they are used if a defendant becomes a fugitive so authorities have a picture to find them—which would not be necessary for a former commander-in-chief.
"We should keep in mind that there are two things going on here. Donald Trump the man is being prosecuted but we're also talking about an ex-president of the United States and the office of the presidency of the United States and we have to be careful about the damage that can be caused if this case is treated in a way that doesn't take into account the dignity of the presidency," he said.
"Not taking his mug shot does not represent an equal rights violation or equal protection violation. The fact that he is being treated differently in some respects has nothing to do with Donald Trump as a man. It has to do with him as an ex-president."
Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba also argued ahead of Trump's court appearance that it is not necessary for a former president to pose for a mug shot.
"Mug shots are for people so that you recognize who they are," Habba told CNN. "He is the most recognized face in the world, let alone the country right now, so there's no need for that. There's no need for the theatrics."
Even if Trump did end up having his mug shot taken, it would have not been made public as per New York state law.
On Tuesday, Trump's own 2024 campaign team released a fake mug shot of the former president as part of a fundraising tool. Trump's team sent an email with the fake mug shot on t-shirts, which were being sold for $47.
"What better way to PROVE that our campaign will NEVER SURRENDER our country to the Left's tyranny than countless grassroots patriots proudly wearing their very own 'NOT GUILTY' T-Shirts," the email offering the shirts states.
The t-shirts feature fake booking details on an already existing headshot of the former president.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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