House Democrats introduced a bill Friday that would strip former President Donald Trump of Secret Service protection if he's convicted, JustTheNews reported. Trump is facing four criminal prosecutions.
The legislation is titled "Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable (DISGRACED) Former Protectees Act." It denies Secret Service protection to officials who are convicted of a felony that comes with a penalty longer than one year.
The former president currently faces four criminal trials brought by his political enemies. The first to make it to court is the alleged hush money case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, which began on April 25.
Regardless of the outcome of the New York case, two other trials come from federal indictments filed by special counsel Jack Smith. The fourth criminal trial is a Georgia election interference case brought against Trump by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
This legislation that codified political injustice was introduced by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the Washington Examiner reported. He has been on a crusade against Trump as the Jan. 6 committee chairman.
The rationale from Thomas was that Secret Service protection might result in "special treatment" in prison. "It is regrettable that it has come to this, but this previously unthought-of scenario could become our reality," Thompson complained.
"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," he said. This is the same lawmaker who called an "election integrity" event a "sham."
While Trump's name doesn't appear in the legislation, the fact sheet said that his "unprecedented 91 felony charges in Federal and State courts across the country have created a new exigency that Congress must address." Some experts believe Trump has a good chance at a conviction, though it's unclear what might happen on appeal.
Still, if the law is passed and indeed applies to Trump, it would remove protections from a former president and current presidential candidate. Unfortunately, the chances of that happening are looking better by the day.
Joe Tacopina, who left Trump's legal team in January, said he believes that it is "absolutely" possible that Trump could be convicted in any of his trials, Fox News reported. "Is it possible? Absolutely," Tacopina said in an interview shortly after leaving the team.
"You have a jury of twelve who’s going to ultimately decide this. Do I think there’s a political bent to some of this, the way it’s gone about it? Yes, I do," the attorney continued.
"Do I think these cases are invalid cases? Look, a grand jury voted to indict. You can’t say there’s no way he’ll get convicted or no way he’ll be sentenced. You just can’t say that," Tacopina added.
Even if Trump is convicted, it's still unknown whether they will hold up in appeal. Although his cases have gone forward with problems like a judge whose daughter made money off of bashing Trump or a district attorney with questionable morals and motivations, there's a chance any convictions could be overturned on appeal.
At the very least, this legislation is just another maneuver in a game to knock Trump out of the 2024 presidential election. At worst, it is a move that could purposely put a former president's life needlessly in danger, and that's disgraceful.
