Republican lawmakers on Tuesday slammed a Democratic bill that would strip former President Donald Trump of his security detail if he went to prison, with one lawmaker referencing Jeffrey Epstein’s fate behind bars.
Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, sought to defend the Disgraced Former Protected Persons Act, introduced in April, during arguments at a congressional hearing.
The bill would strip Trump, or anyone else eligible for Secret Service protection, of that protection if they are convicted of a crime and sent to prison.
“Republicans have been making a big fuss about this bill being about former President Trump and taking away his security, but that’s simply not true,” Thompson said at the committee hearing, which was originally held to hear from local Pennsylvania law enforcement officials about the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump.
“This bill makes no mention of former President Trump and would not have affected public safety in this tragic incident,” Thompson said.
“This bill speaks to any person under Secret Service protection who has been convicted of a felony and sentenced to prison, and it does not take away their security,” Thompson said.
“This bill makes it clear that when a protected individual is sentenced and placed in the custody of correctional officers, the Secret Service can orderly deliver the prisoner and that Secret Service agents cannot be forced to become correctional officers,” he said. “That’s what this law is about.”
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., fired back, warning his colleagues about “how our rhetoric, our actions, the messaging of the legislation we take, shapes the debate and influences people.”
What we know about the attempted assassination of President Trump
- 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks has been identified as the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- Crooks was shot and killed by a Secret Service agent.
- The gunman grazed President Trump’s ear, killed a 50-year-old former fire chief and wounded two other people at the rally.
- Investigators detailed Crooks’ search history to lawmakers, revealing that he sought out dates for speeches by President Trump and the Democratic National Convention.
- FBI officials said the criminal’s search history also revealed a broad interest in famous people and celebrities, regardless of political affiliation.
- “I was supposed to be dead,” Trump told The Washington Post exclusively at the rally, describing how he survived the “surreal” assassination attempt.
- Prominent politicians, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, addressed the nation about the shooting, calling it a “heinous, horrific and despicable act.”
“Prison is not necessarily a safe place. Just ask Epstein’s family about that,” Greene said, referring to the notorious pedophile financier who was found dead in his cell at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in August 2019.
Epstein’s death was officially ruled a suicide, but his brother, lawyers, online conspiracy theorists and prominent pathologist Michael Baden allege he was murdered.
“I don’t think it’s an accurate statement to suggest that a prison would provide the security that’s needed,” Green told Thompson.
“I agree with what the senator’s bill said doesn’t apply to this case,” Green said. “It’s what we do and what we say at a particular time that shapes societal attitudes.”
In response to questioning from Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), Pennsylvania officials said cutting security resources from one department would put “further” strain on others.
Here is the latest on the assassination attempt against Donald Trump:
Thompson, who led the House Select Committee on January 6th that investigated the 2021 attack on the Capitol, directly referenced Trump in a statement introducing the bill.
He argued at the time that the law needed to be changed “so that the American people can be sure that protected status does not mean special treatment and that those sentenced to prison will indeed serve the required sentence.”
“Unfortunately, current law does not predict how Secret Service protection will affect the felony conviction of a recipient, even a former president,” Thompson said.
He called the need for the bill “unfortunate.”
This bill Fact Sheet He specifically noted that President Trump “faces an unprecedented 91 felony charges in federal and state courts across the country,” creating “a new emergency that Congress must address to ensure that Secret Service protection does not impede the criminal justice process and the administration of justice.”
The document declared that “the measures would also apply to Mr. Trump” if he were convicted of a felony, as the 45th president is scheduled to be sentenced on September 18th following his Manhattan “hush money” conviction.
Trump, 78, was nearly killed in an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Shortly after the shooting, one of Thompson’s aides posted online: “Next time, watch out.”
Thompson fired the staff member the next day.
