Why Secret Service protection for Donald Trump is different than for other ex-presidents
CBC
The legal woes of Donald Trump have cast a new light on the role of those federal agents assigned to protect him and other former presidents for the rest of their lives: the U.S. Secret Service.
There they were, accompanying the 45th president as he made his way into a Manhattan courthouse earlier this month to be fingerprinted and arraigned on 34 felony counts.
Meanwhile, current and former officers assigned to Trump are part of another investigation of the former president, reportedly having to testify at a Washington, D.C., grand jury as part of the investigation into classified documents seized at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.
All this, along with other potential cases, including his involvement with the Jan. 6 riots, and accusations of 2020 election interference in Georgia, at least raise the possibility that Trump could be convicted, and perhaps, incarcerated.
CBC News looks at the role of the U.S. Secret Service in protecting former presidents, the challenges of Trump, and whether they would accompany him if he were sent to prison.
Although the U.S. Secret Service was founded in 1865 — created to combat counterfeiting of U.S. currency after the Civil War, according to the Secret Service website — it began protecting presidents in 1901 after the assassination of president William McKinley in Buffalo, N.Y.
The protection for sitting presidents, which remains today and can't be rejected, also extends to their spouses and immediate family
But in 1958, the Former Presidents Act was passed which, beginning 1965, would provide for a lifetime of protection for former presidents, their spouses and their children, up to the age of 15. (Protection of a spouse would terminate in the event of remarriage).
There have, however, been some tweaks throughout the years.
Even though the adult children of presidents are supposed to lose their protective detail when the president leaves office, both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have signed directives authorizing the Secret Service to provide a period of extended protection for their children, according to CBS News.
It's the responsibility of the Secret Service to protect former presidents at all times, meaning, "they will oversee and directly coordinate all levels of security for wherever [they] go," said Tim Miller, a former Secret Service agent.
But the level of security is "all based on whatever the Secret Service, through its intelligence and coordination capabilities, determines is appropriate for the protecting," said Miller.
As for the number of agents assigned to a former president, that really depends on potential threats and how long they've been out of office.
"Even a former president could be could be a goal of terrorist," said Ronald Kessler, author of In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes With Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect.
A claim by New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt that petroleum refiners will be paying the $1 million per week cost of a gasoline price cut that her government orchestrated last weekend does not appear to be unfolding that way.
Sonia Bélanger, junior health minister and the minister responsible for senior and social services, is expected to be sworn in as early as Friday as Quebec's new health minister, according to sources at Radio-Canada.
A growing number of Manitoba's MRI machines now use artificial intelligence, with a plan to have more than half using the technology by spring.
A mobile unit the Saskatchewan government bought in 2002 for providing mammograms to Saskatchewan women will soon retire.
The Prince Edward Island government is rolling out the province’s first-ever policing standards, which officials say will make police services more consistent, transparent and better supported.
Residents in Niagara Falls, Ont., continue to wait for news on the future of Marineland’s property and dozens of animals, including up to 30 belugas and four dolphins — nearly two months after the federal government turned down the theme park's request to export the mammals.
Canadian travellers hoping for a new year without having to worry about a labour dispute may be out of luck, as 2026 will see most major airlines from this country facing off with unions across the bargaining table.
Food prices are soaring. Food prices keep climbing. Food prices are defying cooling inflation.
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
Ontario legislation that mandated air conditioning in all resident rooms in long-term care (LTC) homes has saved dozens of lives, according to a new study.
Gusty winds, rapid fall in temperature prompt special weather statement for Waterloo region and area
The mid-week warmup in Waterloo region, Guelph and area will abruptly come to an end on Friday, Environment and Climate Change Canada warns.
Water in two more schools in the N.W.T. show lead levels above Health Canada's guidelines for drinking water, according to the territorial government.
Ontario's ethics watchdog says it will investigate whether the province's labour minister contravened any laws in his handling of a controversial training fund.