Why Trump didn’t get a mugshot — and wasn’t even technically arrested — at his arraignment

Former President Donald Trump was arraigned on at a federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday – however since he’s a former commander-in-chief, his arraignment adopted a barely totally different course of than is typical. 

Trump’s lawyer and spokesperson Alina Habba, who gave a press release whereas Trump was within the courthouse, responded to questions from CBS Information about whether or not the previous president had been arrested, fingerprinted and had a reserving picture — generally referred to as a mugshot — taken: “President Trump is in a really distinctive place the place he does not must be given a mugshot, clearly,” Habba mentioned. “He’s not a flight threat. He’s the main candidate of the GOP for the time being. He’s going by a course of that has been coordinated with Secret Service and it’ll all be dealt with seamlessly.”

Legislation enforcement carries out an arrest when there may be possible trigger {that a} crime has been dedicated.

An arraignment is totally different. It occurs after an indictment has been filed and is the defendant’s first look in court docket the place they’re learn their rights and the costs towards them. It’s through the arraignment they enter their plea. Trump was not arrested and handcuffed; as a substitute, he surrendered himself and confirmed as much as his arraignment. 

In federal courts, the defendant is usually processed after being arraigned, however Trump accomplished the reserving course of earlier than he entered the courtroom. Trump was anticipated to be swabbed for DNA, which fits right into a database and is required within the federal court docket system. He was additionally fingerprinted. 

He was not handcuffed, however as a substitute within the custody of the U.S. Marshals, in line with an official aware of the arraignment. 

As a substitute of getting a reserving picture taken, officers downloaded an official {photograph}. Within the federal court docket system, cameras aren’t allowed inside courtrooms and if mugshots are taken, they don’t seem to be launched, says CBS Information authorized analyst Rikki Klieman.

The method was related throughout his first arraignment, on state costs, at a decrease Manhattan court docket in April. There, Trump was not handcuffed and didn’t have a “perp stroll,” the place the defendant is walked into the constructing inside public view. Solely nonetheless cameras had been allowed inside the Manhattan courtroom. 

He additionally did not have a reserving picture taken throughout his New York arraignment. Regardless of the absence of the shot, his marketing campaign started promoting T-shirts with a black-and-white picture of Trump that resembles a reserving picture, however was not. 

Following the reserving course of, Trump and his attorneys entered the courtroom shortly earlier than 3 p.m. There, he, through his lawyer Todd Blanche, entered a plea of not responsible to all costs.

“Your honor, we most definitely enter a plea of not responsible,” Blanche mentioned. 

Whereas there have been glimpses of Trump throughout his first arraignment as he walked from the courtroom, there was no public sighting of Trump on the Miami courthouse, aside from his motorcade. 

Much like the New York case, Trump didn’t must publish bail, however the court docket might impose restrictions on him, Klieman mentioned. The GOP presidential candidate didn’t must give up his passport and isn’t restricted from journey both inside the U.S. or internationally. However the court docket additionally mentioned Trump is just not allowed to speak with codefendant Walt Nauta particularly concerning the information of the case. Through the New York arraignment, circumstances weren’t set.

The previous president was indicted final week on 37 counts associated to delicate paperwork introduced from the White Home to his Mar-a-Lago membership and alleged efforts to hinder the investigation.

Pat Milton, Graham Kates and Rob Legare contributed to this report.