Jailed Trump: Secret Service ‘Has Met With Local Jail Officials’ in Preparation for Possibility a Guilty Ex-Prez is ‘Remanded on Spot’
Secret Service members reportedly met with local jail officials this month to prepare for the possibility that ex-President Donald Trump is found guilty and sentenced to prison for the criminal charges currently against him, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a sudden development to come as closing arguments for Trump’s criminal trial kicked off in Manhattan on Tuesday, it was revealed that the Secret Service was in the process of preparing for the ex-president’s upcoming verdict.
According to one New York corrections source, the Secret Service recently met with local jail officials to survey the New York prisons where the ex-president could potentially be incarcerated.
Because Trump remains entitled to Secret Service protection for the rest of his life as a former president, a Secret Service team would be forced to follow Trump should he be found guilty, remanded immediately, and sentenced to a stint behind bars.
Manhattan Prosecutor Duncan Levin recently discussed Trump’s potential prison sentence.
He acknowledged that while the former president’s falsification of business records trial was not a “typical case,” Trump could face up to four years in prison for each of the 34 charges filed against him.
“It’s much more informally done in state court,” Levin said of the possible sentence hearing. “I’ve had cases where the jury comes back and says, ‘Guilty,’ and the judge thanks the jury, and excuses them, and says, ‘Let’s sentence the defendant right now.’”
“Obviously, everything’s a little different about this case than the typical case,” the Manhattan prosecutor added.
Levin also explained that the Secret Service must have a plan in place just in case Trump is “remanded on the spot” following a guilty verdict.
Closing arguments for Trump’s falsification of business record trial kicked off on Tuesday, and the jury is expected to start their deliberations once the prosecution and defense finish their closing arguments.
Judge Juan Merchan, the judge handling Trump’s current criminal trial, previously expressed a hesitance to incarcerate the 45th president.
“You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president, as well,” Judge Merchan said on May 6 after he found that Trump violated a gag order for a tenth time. “The last thing I want to do is to put you in jail.”
Judge Merchan also admitted that a possible prison sentence would be a “last resort” because the judge worried “about the people who would have to execute that sanction: the court officers, the correction officers, the Secret Service detail, among others.”
“I want you to understand that I will, if necessary and appropriate,” Judge Merchan warned Trump about a possible jail sentence.
While Judge Merchan would have “fairly wide leeway” in determining a potential punishment for Trump, there is also the possibility the judge could sentence Trump to “probation or house arrest,” according to CBS News.
