Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) on Friday introduced legislation that would strip Secret Service protection from convicted felons sentenced to prison, a bill clearly aimed at former President Donald Trump.
“Unfortunately, current law doesn’t anticipate how Secret Service protection would impact the felony prison sentences of a protectee – even a former President,” Thompson, the former chairman of the House Jan. 6 select committee, said in a statement.
“It is regrettable that it has come to this, but this previously unthought-of scenario could become our reality,” he added.
A factsheet on the so-called DISGRACED Former Protectees Act notes that Trump’s “unprecedented 91 felony charges in Federal and State courts across the country have created a new exigency that Congress must address to ensure Secret Service protection does not interfere with the criminal judicial process and the administration of justice.”
“This measure would apply to former President Trump” if he is convicted of a felony, the document released by Thompson states.
If passed, the measure would remove some of the potential complications and logistical concerns that would come with incarcerating the 77-year-old former president, should he be sentenced to serve time behind bars.
Thompson argued that it is necessary to update the law “so the American people can be assured that protective status does not translate into special treatment – and that those who are sentenced to prison will indeed serve the time required of them.”
Trump’s Manhattan trial related to alleged hush money payments to women is currently underway.
The presumptive Republican nominee for president also faces upcoming trials in Florida, over his alleged hoarding of classified White House document; in Washington, DC, related to his alleged efforts to interfere in the 2020 election; and in Georgia, in a sprawling racketeering case related to his alleged efforts to meddle in the Peach State’s 2020 election results.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and faces hundreds of years in prison if convicted on all charges in all four cases.
