WASHINGTON (AP) – A celebrity and insatiable publicity hound long before he became president, Donald Trump has been photographed countless times. But never like this.
Now that a New York grand jury has voted to indict him for his role in paying porn actors, Trump must appear at the district attorney’s headquarters in Manhattan to be booked, fingerprinted and mugshots taken. The former president, who is the first to be charged, is expected to surrender to authorities early next week.
New York law discourages the release of mug shots in most cases, even before the leak. Less clear is whether Trump will seek to have the images released himself, for political or other reasons. Within minutes of the indictment breaking, his 2024 presidential campaign sent a fundraising message out of the news.
Some of Trump’s aides have floated the idea of holding a post-order press conference – a political trail that Texas Governor Rick Perry took when he surrendered to authorities to take his own mug in 2014.
Indeed, it is a shame that many of the accused are not necessarily politicians. Some have given him a big smile – or at least a mischievous smirk. He has tried to turn the moment into a political boon, keen to boost his popularity with supporters who see him as an unfair target.
Here’s a look at some famous politicians handling their own mug shots:
A SMIRK AND A SOFT-SERVE CONE
Dressed in a snappy dark suit, white shirt and blue tie, Perry removed his signature black glasses – as required by county rules – and was smirking half a smile in the 2014 mug shot.
Republicans face accusations of abuse of power over vetoes that prosecutors say were issued to settle political scores. But the governor said he considered the case a waste of time.
A group of cheering supporters gathered outside and, as he walked out, Perry said, “We’re going to win.” He then went for vanilla ice cream at a nearby soft-serve joint in Austin, Texas, and tweeted the photo he and his lawyer held up their own cones under the words, “And, ice cream.”
Noting the governor’s stance, the Democratic National Committee responded, “This may be a sideshow for Rick Perry but no amount of spin can cover up two felony charges.”
Perry sought to build momentum for a 2016 presidential bid that ultimately failed within months — like the case against him, which never went to trial.
While he did not mark the occasion with a press conference, another Texas Republican, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, also saw a political opportunity in the mug shot.
Indicted in Houston in 2005 on money-laundering charges, DeLay wore a dark suit with a gold House security pin still attached and flashed a wide, toothy mug smile that looked like a photo you could put on a campaign poster. He was convicted, but the verdict was later overturned on appeal.
Also smiling broadly in the mug shot is 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate and North Carolina Senator John Edwards. Edwards, who wore a white shirt and blue tie when he picked up the 2011 cup, is accused of using nearly $1 million in funds from his 2008 presidential campaign to help cover up an extramarital affair. He was acquitted of one charge, and a jury deadlocked on another.
The smile was not intended for former Attorney General John Mitchell, who offered a confused half-grin, wearing a shirt and tie but not a jacket when ordered in 1974. Mitchell was eventually convicted of conspiracy, perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Watergate scandal that brought down the President Richard Nixon. Once the top law enforcement officer in the country, Mitchell ended up serving 19 months in prison.
Not every politician sees criminal charges as a boost to their political future.
Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig was arrested in 2007 by a plainclothes police officer in a men’s bathroom in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. The officer said Craig tapped her leg and signaled to the stall that he wanted sex.
Craig looks very uncomfortable in a mug shot in a suit, tie and lapel pin of the American flag – offering a tight-lipped look and wearing glasses that throw back Reflections of deep light.
Craig seems to know that his political career is over. Although he later failed to withdraw his guilty plea and refused calls from his own party to resign from his Senate seat, Craig chose not to run for re-election in 2008.
Looking equally at the problem was the Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who wore a blue jogging suit, his famous black hair decided to be less poufy than usual, as he peered impassively into the camera shortly after Federal agents appeared around 6 am to arrest him.
Serving his second term, Blagojevich was arrested in 2008 and accused of trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he won the White House. He was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison – until Trump commuted his sentence in 2020.
Blagojevich kept his sense of humor, though.
When New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez was arrested last summer while decrying the Supreme Court overturning the Roe v Wade decision in Washington, she was pictured holding her hands behind her back like handcuffs – except she wasn’t wearing restraints.
Blagojevich tweeted a picture of Ocasio-Cortez next to a mug shot with the caption, “At least when I’m arrested, I’ll be arrested for real!”