Trump's Secret Service agents would accompany him if he went to jail, says retired US judge
REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
- Secret Service agents would follow Trump if he goes to jail, a retired US judge said.
- "No matter where he goes, he will have secret service protection," the former judge told Sky News.
- Trump's arraignment is expected on Tuesday, but experts say a jail term is unlikely.
Secret Service agents would accompany former President Donald Trump if he goes to jail, a retired US judge told Sky News.
Joseph Cosgrove, formerly of the Court of Common Pleas of the 11th Judicial District in Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, told Sky News on Tuesday that the agents would follow him to jail for his protection.
"No matter where he goes, he will have secret service protection, which creates just this bizarre image," Cosgrove said.
"Let's assume the worst for Mr Trump: if he were sentenced to some sort of confinement, he would be confined with his secret service agents," he added.
Judge Cosgrove told Sky News that Trump's agents were legally bound to "protect him at all cost," with former presidents entitled to Secret Service protection for life under federal law.
But navigating how a former president gets protected in jail would be a first in US history.
Trump was indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan on Thursday, after an investigation into a $130,000 hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Former Secret Service officials told Insider's Robin Bravender and Dave Levinthal last November that, if Trump went to prison for any reason, Secret Service agents would very likely follow him.
One former Secret Service official said that an agent wouldn't end up in a cell with him, but that there would likely be at least one agent on the property for protection — even if the agent isn't "walking on his shoulder out in the yard."
A retired FBI special agent also told Insider that Trump would "certainly not be part of the general population."
Experts say that Trump is unlikely to face any jail time, and it is more likely that he will be subjected to a fine, community service, or probation if he is convicted.
Trump is expected to surrender in New York on Tuesday. The charges have not been unsealed, with that move expected during the arraignment on Tuesday.
A source familiar with the case told Insider that it is a felony indictment, while two sources told CNN that Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud.