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Darren Samuelsohn

12 Jan, 10 tweets, 3 min read

@rbravender

NEW: President Donald Trump is entitled to lifetime protection by a Secret Service detail, but those same agents could also be hauled into court to testify against him under oath. by @rbravender & @davelevinthal ($) in @Politicsinsider ow.ly/XjHh50D6Qda

It's a prospect that might have seemed outlandish, even until recently, but now appears real as Trump is expected to face a raft of criminal and civil challenges in federal and state courts once he loses his presidential immunity.

Legal experts are contemplating such a scenario as Trump continues to shatter norms — and potentially break laws — in the final days of his presidency

There's clear precedent for Secret Service officials to be compelled to testify against sitting presidents, and legal experts and former agents say Trump's protective detail could also be subject to subpoenas.

"There's no doubt that the Secret Service could be subpoenaed," said Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill.

There's no legal privilege that would prevent agents from sharing information about potential criminal behavior or the abuse of power that they might have witnessed while doing their job.

"There are so many ways in which we're in uncharted territory right now," said Stephen Vladeck, a constitutional law expert at the University of Texas School of Law. "But of course, that's all because we have a president who put us there."

Backing up, Secret Service agents watched in horror as investigators forced their former colleague Larry Cockell to testify to a grand jury during the investigation into then-President Bill Clinton's affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

"That is a very, very slippery slope to go down as far as the Secret Service is concerned," said former Secret Service agent Joe Funk, a 21-year veteran of the Secret Service who served on the details of presidents George H. W. Bush and Clinton.

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Darren Samuelsohn

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13 Jan

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