Former Jan. 6 panel chair seeks to strip Secret Service protection from felons
The former chair of the now-disbanded Jan. 6 committee introduced a bill Friday that would strip Secret Service protection of any former executive convicted of a felony — an effort to avoid the complications of incarcerating former President Trump should he be ordered to serve jail time.
Dubbed the "Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable (DISGRACED) Former Protectees Act," the legislation from Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) would nix the lifelong protection given to former presidents if they are convicted and sentenced for a felony that carries a year or more in prison time.
“Unfortunately, current law doesn’t anticipate how Secret Service protection would impact the felony prison sentence of a protectee — even a former President,” Thompson said in a statement.
“It is regrettable that it has come to this, but this previously unthought-of scenario could become our reality. Therefore, it is necessary for us to be prepared and 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.”
The move takes aim at Secret Service protections that have left some legal observers suggesting that any eventual conviction of Trump would likely spur some form of home confinement rather than prison time, given his round-the-clock protection.
“This bill would remove the potential for conflicting lines of authority within prisons and allow judges to weigh the sentencing of individuals without having to factor in the logistical concerns of convicts with Secret Service protection,” Thompson’s team wrote on a one-pager on the bill.
Secret Service protections are not just afforded to current and former presidents but also other high ranking officials and immediate family members of protectees.
But Trump is the only protectee facing felony charges — 91 various felony charges across four different state and federal cases.
Trump is currently in court in New York in his hush money trial and is facing charges related to Jan. 6 in federal court in Washington and in Georgia. His federal documents case is being overseen in Florida.
Thompson also claims the bill does not raise ex post facto concerns — those raised when a law is applied retroactively — citing case law finding the government can strip benefits so long as the change was not found to have an “unlawful, punitive purpose.”