The Presidential Perk Donald Trump Would Still Get In Prison
At the time of writing, Donald Trump is in the midst of his hush money trial. He's already been accused of breaching a gag order in place to protect jurors, prompting prosecutors to point out that he could serve jail time as a result. Of course, that's led to a ton of speculation about what might happen were the former president to be incarcerated. Spoiler alert: He'd still have the perk afforded to all past presidents — Secret Service protection.
ICYMI, despite being required to keep mum about the ongoing criminal trial against him, Trump has taken to his social media platform to make some pretty big claims. As reported by Politico, he issued a post to Truth Social claiming, "They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury." He did so under the guise of quoting Fox News' Jesse Watters — though prosecutors have rubbished claims that it was a quote, as Watters never mentioned Trump in his statement.
Prosecutors further claimed that Trump's comment could dissuade jurors from participating in the trial. It's fairly unsurprising, then, that the team was quick to push for a contempt hearing and note that being found guilty could even see the former businessman put in jail. Granted, those in the know are of the mind that it's pretty unlikely. Insiders also believe the odds of him facing jail time over the trial are fairly slim. Nevertheless, if he was, he'd retain his Secret Service privileges.
According to insiders, the Secret Service is non-negotiable
Speaking to CNN in relation to the possibility of Donald Trump serving jail time for contempt, insiders revealed that there has been high-level conversations considering how it might be dealt with. Though the details of the meeting were kept under wraps, one thing that was confirmed to the outlet was that the Secret Service would have to play an active role in finding the best place for the former president to be jailed.
Of course, that was still just in relation to the jailing for contempt — something that would have seen him kept in a cell at the court rather than a jail or prison complex. If the judge and jury were to decide Trump should serve time for the accusations leveled against him in the hush money trial, things become even more interesting. Though, once again, the Secret Service would play an active role.
Speaking to The New York Times, unnamed insiders mused that in the event Trump landed in jail, there was a good chance Secret Service would get the final say on the prison — and that it may even be one that had been previously closed down. The sources explained that that was because the facility would need to house not just Trump but the team tasked with keeping him safe. We're not particularly shocked by that. After all, an expert has previously told us federal prison would be no match for Trump for precisely that reason.
If jailed, Trump would have round-the-clock protection
Regardless of where Donald Trump would go if he were sentenced to jail time, anonymous officials speaking to The New York Times opened up about some of the things agents would be tasked with doing. Those included food testing, along with providing armed security at all times. Additionally (perhaps unsurprisingly, if he were to be placed in an otherwise closed-down complex), Trump would be kept from engaging with other prisoners.
As for the Secret Service, the organization has remained quiet on what the imprisonment of a former president might entail under their protection. Given that, at this point in time, Trump hasn't been sentenced to any time, that makes sense. Granted, we're not expecting them to offer up any details even if Trump is ultimately sentenced to jail, either.
It is worth noting that Mississippi congressman Bennie Thompson has already introduced a bill that, if passed, would revoke any former presidents' right to Secret Service protection. That said, at the time of writing, it hasn't passed, and given that The White House notes any bill has to be approved by The Senate, the House of Representatives, and the president, it's probably a long shot. With that in mind, if Trump does end up going to jail, all signs point to him doing so with his Secret Service detail in tow.