A new bill, introduced on Friday, could revoke former President Donald Trump’s Secret Service protection if he is convicted of charges stemming from the four criminal cases he faces. Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson, ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, has proposed new legislation, titled the “Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable Former Protectees Act,” also known as the DISGRACED Act. Rep. Thompson, from Mississippi, previously chaired the Select Committee on January 6.
The Act removes Secret Service protection for individuals convicted of state or local felonies carrying a minimum prison sentence of one year. Specifically mentioned in the bill’s fact sheet is former President Trump, who is four days into the first-ever criminal trial of a former president, which is taking place in Manhattan.
Read: LIVE UPDATES: Trump Manhattan Trial – Day 4
The fact sheet says:
Former President Donald J. 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.
A second mention of former President Trump says:
This measure would apply to former President Trump. It also would apply to all Secret Service protectees convicted and sentenced under felony charges.
A source in Rep.Thompson’s office shared insights with Newsweek, saying:
Nobody should have special treatment, and that happens to include the former president.
In a statement, Rep. Thompson said that current laws do not adequately address how Secret Service protection should be handled for individuals facing prison sentences. The statement read:
Unfortunately, current law doesn’t anticipate how Secret Service protection would impact the felony prison sentence of a protectee — even a former President.
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.
This legislation is co-sponsored by Reps. Troy A. Carter Sr. (D-LA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Frederica Wilson (D-FL), Yvette D. Clarke (D-FL), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), and Steve Cohen (D-TN).
The history of Secret Service protection dates back to 1901, initially focused on presidents, high-level officials, and select family members. Protection was expanded to include major-party presidential nominees following the assassination of former U.S. Attorney General and New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of Robert Kennedy, had his request for Secret Service protection denied by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the fifth time in late March. Kennedy labeled these decisions as “politically motivated.”
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