Thompson specifically mentions Trump as someone whose protection privileges would be affected if he is found guilty in his first of four criminal trials involving hush money payments and alleged falsified records prior to the 2016 presidential election.
According to Thompson, the existing law does not address the issue of Secret Service protection in the event that Trump or any other protected individual, such as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is sentenced to prison.
Thompson expressed concerns about the current law, stating that it could hinder the fair administration of justice and create logistical challenges for the Secret Service and prison authorities at the Federal and State levels.
In 1965, Congress granted lifelong security to former presidents and their spouses, unless they choose not to accept it. Additionally, major presidential and vice presidential candidates, as well as their spouses, are provided with secret service protection within 120 days of a general election.
This bill aims to eliminate any conflicting lines of authority within prisons and grant judges the freedom to consider the sentencing of individuals without being burdened by the logistical challenges posed by inmates under Secret Service protection.
According to the official, the bill aims to transfer the responsibility of inmate protection to the appropriate prison authorities, rather than involving the Secret Service. He emphasized that there are no punitive concerns associated with this bill.
Secret Service protection has been in place for presidents, high-level officials, and certain family members of those officials since 1901. The assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 prompted the expansion of protection to include major-party presidential nominees.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is the son of Senator Kennedy, has expressed his frustration due to the repeated denial of his request for protection by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. This denial, which occurred for the fifth time in late March, has irked Kennedy.
Kennedy criticized the decisions, stating that they were driven by political motives.
