Can Trump remove Secret Service protection for Hunter and Ashley Buden? Yes, and no. There's something wrong here.
Presidents and First Ladies get lifetime protection. That's a federal law. An outgoing President can extend Secret Service protection for family members for 6 months after leaving office. Trump did this for his family when he left office in 2021.
I'm not so sure that the Secret Service has to obey Trump on this issue. All the news reporters seem to think that Trump has the authority to cancel their protection.
The Secret Service, through an official, has said that they are working with the protective details and will be complying with the Trump's order.
I'm looking at this differently. Saying that Trump can cancel Secret Service protection that Biden has ordered is akin to Trump being able to cancel pardons. He can't. That's why he's currently talking about the autopen machine. Trump can also cancel any and all of Joe Biden's executive orders. That's legal. But Secret Service protection is different. There's no law governing revoking protection given except by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The Secret Service is under the Department of Homeland Security, as an independent entity.
The law governing the Secret Service is 18 U.S.C. § 3056. I read the whole thing many times looking for Trump having the power to do this. The six month limitation is for children of the Vice President under 16 years if age. It says nothing about children older than that.
There is nothing said about the children of the President after he leaves office, except they get coverage until age 16 years. There is nothing about children older than that. All protectees are determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, except where written in by law. So, even the six month exception for Biden's children is in question, except if Biden told the Secretary of Homeland Security to do so. There's no law covering it.
So, does Trump have the power to revoke the protection given by Biden to his children or Dr. Fauci or John Bolton before he left office? The tradition, not in law, is 6 months of coverage. Nobody has ever revoked protection like Trump has done. So we're really in uncharted territory. Secret Service protection is determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, but that's giving it, not revoking it.
Now that I've created a controversy, what did Trump say in his Truth Social order?
Taxpayers are paying for the protection of a couple of Bidens, so, of course, it's only right they don't get it.
Next is a rant about South Africa because Hunter went there, which doubly pisses Trump off because of the white Afrikaners being persecuted by Black people taking their land, not.
I refuse to believe that Hunter has 18 agents running around with him and that Ashley has 13. He's just making it up.
Newsweek traced down the source of those numbers, and it was Laura Loomer. Oh, sure, if Laura says it it must be true.
It's just one more stab in the back of Joe Biden by Trump. He didn't think of it by himself, but you know how whenever there is a juicy conspiracy he can latch onto, he will.
With Hunter's pardon, does he get his gun back?
