The leading Democrat from the defunct House of Representatives January 6 committee has introduced legislation which would strip Donald Trump of the Secret Service protections afforded to him if the former president is convicted in any of his criminal cases and has to go to prison for one year or more.
“Unfortunately, current law doesn’t anticipate how Secret Service protection would impact the felony prison sentences of a protectee – even a former president,” former January 6 select committee chairman Bennie Thompson, a representative from the state of Mississippi, said in a statement. “It is regrettable that it has come to this, but this previously unthought-of scenario could become our reality.”
The legislation, zanily named the ‘Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable former protectees Act (or DISGRACED Act for short), would strip Mr. Trump of the lifetime Secret Service protection which he is presently guaranteed.
“This measure would apply to former President Trump,” a ‘fact sheet’ put out by Thompson’s office said, specifying that the bill would ensure that Secret Service protection “does not interfere with the criminal judicial process and the administration of justice” by impeding “the equal administration of justice and present[ing] logistical difficulties” to the agency and prison authorities.
The fact sheet assured that the bill is not a violation of the Constitution, and that “the purpose of this bill is to hand off inmate protection to relevant prison authorities rather than involve the Secret Service.”
The Secret Service was founded in 1901 following the assassination of President William McKinley. A 1965 law passed after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy expanded protection to former presidents and their spouses for life, unless they decline, leaving legal observers to assume that Trump’s Secret Service detail would be legally required to continue protecting him even if he was convicted and jailed.
Trump became the first former US president in the nation’s 248-year history to face legal charges that could land him in jail last year, with prosecutors in New York, Georgia and at the federal level seeking to convict him over an array of suspected crimes, from the falsification of business records to pay off a “horsefaced” (Trump’s words) adult film star claiming she slept with him, to allegations of electoral interference in the 2020 presidential election, and accusations that he mishandled classified documents.
Trump has denied wrongdoing in each case, and has accused prosecutors and judges of engaging in a “witch hunt” against him ahead of a highly contentious election coming in November. Trump’s surrogates have pointed to the unprecedented nature of the charges, and accused Democrats of “hypocrisy” over the bid to try and convict Trump while letting alleged sexual predator Bill Clinton and alleged pay-to-play corruption monger Joe Biden and his son Hunter go free.
Trump’s legal problems don’t appear to have hindered his electoral prospects, with Trump currently leading Biden nationally and in most swing states by a margin of between 1 and 10 percent, according to polling.