Yes, Trump will get a pension and Secret Service protection after he leaves office.

[StarfishSaver]

The Former Presidents Act guarantees all former presidents an annual pension and office expenses, and 18 U.S. Code §3056 guarantees lifetime Secret Service protection.

The only exception is that presidents who have been impeached and removed from office are not entitled to any of the benefits provided in the Former Presidents Act.* They are, however, still entitled to lifetime Secret Service protection.

So, even if the House impeaches Trump, unless the Senate convicts and removes him from office before noon on January 20 - which is most likely not going to happen - he will be entitled to receive all of the financial benefits that other former president has gotten. But, even if he were removed through impeachment, that would not affect his lifetime Secret Service protection, which he will get regardless how he leaves office.

The drafters of the Former Presidents Act likely never foresaw a situation in which a president would be impeached at the very end of his term but not be removed before the term ends. Congress may close that loophole to eliminate the pension and expenses in case this situation ever occurs again, but even if they do, the tightened law would apply only to future presidents who take office after the effective date of the revision.

*The term “former President” means a person --

(1) who shall have held the office of President of the United States of America;

(2) whose service in such office shall have terminated other than by removal pursuant to section 4 of article II of the Constitution of the United States of America;

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Bummer.

But what happens if he's in prison?

[StarfishSaver]

4. Direct deposit to his commissary account?

[Raven123]

7. We will save on the travel allowance

[hlthe2b]

15. Slate researched this in 2018: Would a Former President Get Secret Service Protection in Prison?...

Would a Former President Get Secret Service Protection in Prison?
What about a former first lady?

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/would-a-former-president-get-secret-service-protection-in-prison.html

Short answer, SS would negotiate with prison and Federal Marshalls to have a small presence on-premises but would not necessarily assume all responsibilities.

First Ladies/Former First Spouses lose protection if they remarry.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

20. Would a Secret Service agent be around all the time

to keep him safe from other prisoners?

[hlthe2b]

25. If they negotate Fed Marshalls or Federal BOP staff to assume some of that responsibiltiy not

necessarily, though they would have SS on-premises or during the highest risk times. At least this is what the Slate author concluded.

[Raven123]

2. Need to update that law before the impeachment trial

[StarfishSaver]

12. It won't matter

Any update to the law will only affect future presidents, not presidents who were in office when the old law was in effect.

[Raven123]

23. Good point. Nuts

[angrygranny]

3. Read the rest

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

High Crimes--inciting insurgency sounds like a high crime to me. And one that should not permit him to have 24/7 protection.

[StarfishSaver]

8. What are you talking about?

Your post has nothing to do with my OP

[servermsh]

5. Since it is law, and not in the Constitution, it could theoretically be amended by Congress.

So some hope I guess.

[StarfishSaver]

10. That's what I said

Congress can change the law, but it would only affect future presidents elected after the effective date of the amended law. It won't affect Trump.

[Butterflylady]

6. Hopefully SS won't be for to long.

Have another big mack or two and a heaping load of french fries.

[sheshe2]

9. May the perks be short lived, so to speak.

[MontanaMama]

18. Wish I could rec your post...

but it does make me wonder if Melanie gets the pension when Traitor45 leaves the planet?

[sheshe2]

29. ...

[njhoneybadger]

11. Ok, impeach him then put him in solitary confinement.

[gladium et scutum]

19. The only remedy that can come

from impeachment and conviction is removal from office. To get him into solitary will require conviction at another trial in a different jurisdiction.

[njhoneybadger]

24. That's what I meant.

[tinrobot]

13. What about Secret Serive protection when he's in jail?

I doubt that was ever imagined when the bill was written.

[StarfishSaver]

16. He'd still be entitled to it. They'd have to figure out with the BOP how that would work.

[hlthe2b]

17. I address this in my post upstream

[tulipsandroses]

14. Hopefully he will be in prison. SS doesn't have to go there do they?

Do we have to put money in his commissary if he's in prison?

[Bev54]

21. Schumer is looking at using emergency powers to have the vote earlier.

[StarfishSaver]

28. It probably won't matter. The Senate is unlikely to remove him

If someone had told me two years ago that Trump would be impeached for inciting an insurgent riot that led to the storming of the Capitol and near assassinations and lynchings of the Vice President, Speaker, Members and Senators - but there would not be enough votes to remove him from office, I would have been very puzzled.

[napi21]

22. I understand why everyone of us wants to repeal that for DT. He has always claimed he doesn't

accept a salary while Prez because he didn't need the money. BUT....It would be wrong to try to change the Constitution. We had a very bad experience with this one derelict man in the WH, & hopefully learned our lesson to never elect someone like that again. It would be wrong to penalize our past Presidents & our future ones too because of this one. Think about the people who stilll hate Barack & his wife & family. Do we really want to put them in harms was because we're pissed off at DT? He needs to be punished but in a way that impacts HIM not all Presidents.

[roamer65]

26. Congress can take it away.

They can also disqualify him from office.

[StarfishSaver]

30. No, they cannot take that away.

They cannot retroactively take away a benefit that has already vested. And the second Trump said, "So help me, God," the entitlement to these benefits vested. They can amend the law, but can only apply it to future presidents who came to office after the effective date of the amendment.

[roamer65]

33. Then onward to impeachment and conviction.

[StarfishSaver]

34. He'd have to be removed from office, not just convicted

[roamer65]

35. Correct, I should have said removal.

On CNN yesterday, they thought the removal vote could take place even though he is not currently in office.

[StarfishSaver]

38. He can be convicted post-presidency, but how can he be removed if he already left office?

[roamer65]

41. That was the big debate.

[StarfishSaver]

42. I think the debate is over whether he can be tried after he leaves office

Being removed after leaving office is non-debatable since that's an impossibility and, therefore, not an option.

[Vivienne235729]

27. I don't see why they can't apply it now.

[StarfishSaver]

31. Because it's illegal to make the removal of a benefit like this retroactive

Once someone becomes entitled to it, it can't be taken away.

[rdking647]

36. but laws can be changed.....

[StarfishSaver]

39. The law can be changed, but it can only be applied to people subject to it in the future

A law that confers a benefit cannot take away that benefit from people who are already entitled to it Trump became entitled to those perqs as soon as he became president, so Congress cannot restrict them for him.

Example. Until 1997, all former presidents were entitled to lifetime Secret Service protection. But that year, Congress changed the law to limit post-presidency Secret Service protection to only 10 years.

That new restriction did not apply to Bill Clinton or any other president who took office prior to the passage of the law because Congress cannot restrict a benefit that someone is already entitled to. The new law would apply only to presidents elected after 1997, beginning with George W. Bush.

But in 2012, Congress revised the law again to return lifetime protection for all ex-presidents. That law applied to all previous presidents, including Bush, whose Secret Service protection was limited under the first revision, because it was an expansion of an entitlement, not a restriction.

Does that clarify it for you?

[rdking647]

43. i pretty sure it can still be changed

theres nothing in the constitution that requires lifetime secret service benefits.
all the congress has to do is pass a new law revoking his.
the only constitutional amendment that comes close is the 27th and that doesnt apply to presidents

[StarfishSaver]

44. You are wrong

But think whatever you like. I'm tired of explaining it to you.

[Vinca]

37. Imagine how many taxpayer dollars he'll charge the Secret Service for space.

The grift continues.

[StarfishSaver]

40. Fortunately, the law puts a tight cap on former president's annual budgets

Last edited Mon Jan 11, 2021, 08:07 PM - Edit history (1)

He can't just spend what he wants.