Former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano told Newsmax on Tuesday that the court's requirement that former President Donald Trump post $200,000 bail in the Georgia election interference case doesn't make sense.
"It's absurd to require Donald Trump to post bail of any sort," Napolitano said on Newsmax's "American Agenda." "He is arguably the best known human being on the planet. He really can't flee anywhere without somebody recognizing him. He has so much at stake in this case, there is no way that he's going to fail to show up when it's necessary for him to do so.
"This is the prosecutor and the court sending a message to the president and the press that the former president will be treated just like any other defendant in the Fulton County Courthouse."
Trump was charged last week in the case along with 18 allies who prosecutors say conspired to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia in an effort to help Trump retain the White House. The former president is expected to surrender at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday.
Asked if cameras will be present for Trump's booking, Napolitano said, "No, because cameras are not permitted at bookings."
"The booking consists of the defendant voluntarily walking in with his lawyers, being separated from his lawyers, being handcuffed, being fingerprinted, being weighed and measured, being mug shot and then being delivered up to the courtroom for a bail hearing," he said. "In President Trump's case, because they've already agreed on the amount of bail, there will be no delivery of him to the courtroom because there's no reason for a bail hearing. So, as soon as the booking is over with, he'll be permitted to leave."
Napolitano joked that "the only thing we'll see, if this goes smoothly, will be the mug shot," which people will "be able to buy on a T-shirt by 6 o'clock tomorrow afternoon."
Commenting on the Georgia judge's decision to allow cameras in the courtroom, Napolitano said it's good for the public see the proceedings.
"When I was a young judge, a long time ago, and cameras first began, I was the first judge in New Jersey to permit them in the courtroom," he said. "We all thought it would create a circus. In those days, the cameras … were large, they had cameramen operating them, and they even had prompters there, if you wanted them.
"Now, the cameras in the courtroom are smaller than your mobile device, so you really don't even see them and really don't even remember that they're there. I am very much in favor of the public being able to see how the judiciary works and understand how it works. It's been too secret for 230 years.
"It's about time the public had an opportunity to watch it without having actually to go down to the courthouse. I think it will decrease the circus atmosphere, rather than increase it, and I'm glad that this judge, a relatively new judge, in this case, agrees."
Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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