this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2024
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The U.S. Secret Service is in the business of protecting the president, whether he’s inside the Oval Office or visiting a foreign war zone.

But protecting a former president in prison? The prospect is unprecedented. That would be the challenge if Donald J. Trump — whom the agency is required by law to protect around the clock — is convicted at his criminal trial in Manhattan and sentenced to serve time.

Even before the trial’s opening statements, the Secret Service was in some measure planning for the extraordinary possibility of a former president behind bars. Prosecutors had asked the judge in the case to remind Mr. Trump that attacks on witnesses and jurors could land him in jail even before a verdict is rendered.

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[–] jpreston2005 120 points 8 months ago (4 children)

I would hope that being found guilty of treason would revoke any duty to protect them by the secret service...

[–] jordanlund 78 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Unfortunately, of all the charges he's facing, treason is not one of them.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 8 months ago (5 children)
[–] [email protected] 33 points 8 months ago

Yet. The electors scheme that dumps directly participated in to conspire with election officials to forge and mail in false elector documents is still undergoing investigation and, with new updates every month from Republicans giving information to the authorities.

This is the one that I thought would be the most likely of causing him serious legal trouble, but this happened across seven states with an unknown number but around a dozen election officials that agreed to forge documents at Trump's and his team's request and then send in the documents to trick the national archives and pence into falsely certifying Trump as the president-elect in the 2020 election.

It's batshit insane, and he was directly involved, and multiple people can corroborate that. The doj the FBI, some of those Republican collaborators are already working with them, I check in every couple weeks just to see what the latest news is.

The investigations and prosecutions by individual states and government agencies are ongoing, so prosecution of trump is still very much on the table, but only when all of the circumstances and information available has been organized and arrayed, and all of the smaller fish have been targeted and dealt with first.

As of March 2024, the Arizona AG is said that they're nearing the end of their investigation.

But that's one state of seven. And there's also the FBI and the doj investigating this, so there's a lot going on.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_fake_electors_plot

[–] jordanlund 16 points 8 months ago

If he was going to face treason charges, they would have brought it as part of the January 6 trial.

Those charges are:

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/01/1191493880/trump-january-6-charges-indictment-counts

one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States applies to Trump's repeated and widespread efforts to spread false claims about the November 2020 election while knowing they were not true and for allegedly attempting to illegally discount legitimate votes all with the goal of overturning the 2020 election, prosecutors claim in the indictment.

one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding was brought due to the alleged organized planning by Trump and his allies to disrupt the electoral vote's certification in January 2021.

one count of obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding is tied to Trump and his co-conspirators' alleged efforts after the November 2020 election until Jan. 7, 2021, to block the official certification proceeding in Congress.

one count of conspiracy against rights refers to Trump and his co-conspirators alleged attempts to "oppress, threaten and intimidate" people in their right to vote in an election.

[–] disguy_ovahea 10 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I’m surprised they didn’t consider selling classified submarine plans to be treason, as part of the classified documents case.

At one point in his interviews, Butler says he told investigators that Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt repeated classified submarine secrets following a conversation with Trump in spring 2021.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/11/politics/trump-employee-5-classified-documents-mar-a-lago/index.html

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

Semantically, according to US Legal Code you can't commit treason without being at war, and war has not been properly defined by the federal government.

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[–] a4ng3l 33 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Is it only about protecting him or also avoiding him discussing unwanted topics with other inmates in that case? He’s still the recipient of privileged information…

[–] Windex007 25 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's exactly this. It's protection for him is a side effect of protecting the country. While these two things will generally overlap, if they ever diverge...

[–] a4ng3l 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Yeah you guys still execute traitors right ? That would be quite the signal xD

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Apparently only if they are brown or Jewish.

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[–] andrewta 13 points 8 months ago (2 children)

From what I remember the secret service can opt to stop protecting him.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Nope.

Under current United States federal law, all former presidents are entitled to lifetime protection from the Secret Service. Barring an act of Congress or a presidential executive order, the Secret Service is bound by law to protect former presidents for life. There aren't any exceptions listed in the statute governing the protection of former presidents. Source

[–] Viking_Hippie 9 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Barring an act of Congress or a presidential executive order

Could definitely imagine Congress and/or Biden doing that to make sure that Secret Service agents aren't sent to prison for crimes they didn't commit..

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

They can't opt out, but HE can.

We just need to convince him that they're spying for the libs or some shit.

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[–] [email protected] 60 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

Trump will not go to a normal prison / gen pop, etc. Toss that thought from your mind.

Trump will die in a shitty military barracks on a shitty military base where he has no internet connection, access to him can be easily controlled & he can't blab state secrets.

There is already a precedent here with Nixon's lawyer.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

Other than your first sentence, this is pure fantasy. He'll never go far enough to trigger actual accountability from those that matter...

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I feel like losing the protection of the secret service should be part of being tried and convicted of a crime if you are the president.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 8 months ago (10 children)

The secret service will be there to prevent other inmates from beating national secrets out of him.

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[–] Son_of_dad 14 points 8 months ago (3 children)

The problem is it makes them an easy target, especially in the future when a conservative court convicts a liberal president over jaywalking or some stupid shit. Slippery slope, I guess is what I'm saying

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 8 months ago (3 children)

So one thing I don't fully understand is this: the secret service is required by law to protect the former president, but...is there anything that actually requires the state of New York to accommodate the secret service in doing so?

In theory, couldn't the state of New York just actually throw Trump in prison, no special privileges, and also no special accommodations for the secret service?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago

I would LOVE to see that scenario. Trump goes to prison as he deserves and gets his special accommodations all revoked either by the court or the prison or whatever.

Being immune to repercussions of your crimes because you are in a certain position is a very bad thing.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The fact that this is where American is at is disgraceful.

This traitor needs the maximum penalty and his supporters need to undergo some sort of education on Russian propoganda.

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[–] Badeendje 26 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

Even if convicted he'll get house arrest. I doubt he will ever see a club Fed from the inside, let alone a supermax.

Maybe a military prison?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago

For the sake of the secret service people, I hope he gets the very first president solitary wing named after him

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 8 months ago (6 children)

I was reading somewhere that congress has introduced legislation barring the secret service from protecting the president once the president is convicted. But good luck getting that passed.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Ex presidents get protection as much because they are a security risk as for their own safety.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 8 months ago (7 children)

Kind of like Egyptian kings getting buried with their servants.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago

Maybe they'll get lucky and his cameras will go off for a while when he's on "constant suicide watch."

[–] twistypencil 11 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I hope that this happens and every single SS agent assigned to this post quits. Who would take a job to be in jail protecting a farting lunatic? Welcome to the SS Johnson, your entire life will be spent behind bars!

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

ACAB, and the Secret Service is full of cops. They like Trump. That's very clear from their internal memos about the Oath Keepers prior to Jan 6:

https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/emails-reveal-secret-service-contacts-with-oath-keepers/

If Trump tried to plan a prison break right in front of them, they would probably pretend they heard nothing.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago (7 children)

Why not just build a small presidential prison?

[–] AbidanYre 8 points 8 months ago

We already have prisons to hold spies.

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[–] robocall 10 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's unsatisfying to say, but house arrest would make the most sense for the secret service.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Throw him in a solitary super max prison cell. Security won't be needed.

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[–] jennwiththesea 9 points 8 months ago

Maybe we would finally get prison reform, then

[–] HurlingDurling 9 points 8 months ago

Why? If he's a convicted criminal, strip his salary and all his benefits, including the secret service.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

Im sure he'll be very secure without them. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence

[–] pyrate37 8 points 8 months ago

Cool, take them all to a black site in one of those shithole countries he rants about. Guantanamo Bay still open?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago (2 children)

obviously it wouldnt be prison like real prison but more of like goodfellas prison

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[–] RememberTheApollo_ 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Other countries have jailed their leaders. If you’re a felon and get jailed as a former President I figure you should lose everything, SS protection, any pension and any benefits are gone too. Why should a jailed president get those things?

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

I was hoping this was about the Secret Service deleting insurrection related text messages, but sadly not.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I would love to be the USSS person in charge of logistics for this.

I don’t know why. It would be like a strategy/sim game.

All the other agents have different attributes, and the conditions at the prison change during the day.

I’ve already put too much thought into it and I have no idea why I find it interesting.

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