During an interview on The Dean Obeidallah Show, NBC News National Security Contributor and former FBI Assistant Director, Frank Figliuzzi, speculated on the possibility of former President Donald Trump ending up in a high-security Supermax prison. Figliuzzi’s comments came in light of Trump’s recent arrest and arraignment on 37 counts related to violations of the Espionage Act.
The host, Dean Obeidallah, raised the question of whether a former president would be sentenced to a federal prison considering the constraints posed by the Secret Service detail assigned to protect Trump. Figliuzzi presented two potential options, both of which involved Trump being incarcerated rather than being placed under house arrest.
Figliuzzi dismissed the notion that the Secret Service’s presence would prevent Trump from going to prison, emphasizing that the federal system has a facility known as Supermax located in Florence, Colorado.
This prison has housed notorious individuals such as Robert Hanssen, the worst spy in FBI history, and the Unabomber. Figliuzzi explained that individuals may be placed in Supermax not only due to the risk they pose to others or their potential for escape but also because they are highly sensitive targets who could become victims of attacks by other prisoners. Trump, Figliuzzi surmised, would likely fall into this category, suggesting that Supermax or a similarly secure facility would be his likely destination. He also mentioned the possibility of Trump being placed in a prison camp, which is considered a lower-security option.
Figliuzzi further elaborated that if Trump were placed in a facility like Supermax, the Secret Service’s role would be limited. Only one agent would be necessary when Trump is taken out of his cell for activities such as showering or recreational time. This would ensure that Trump remains secure while minimizing the need for an extensive Secret Service presence.
DEAN OBEIDALLAH: You think they actually sentence a former president to an actual federal penitentiary, or do you think it’s something else they have to do? Because he’s a former president and Secret Service actually has to go? No joke.
FRANK FIGLIUZZI: Yeah, I think I got to tell you, I think too much is being made. I keep hearing about, oh, you know, Secret Service has to be with him and. Yeah, yeah, fine. But but that’s not going to preclude him from going to prison. I don’t buy that at all. We have a prison. The federal system has a prison in Florence, Colorado, known as Supermax. Right. Robert Hanssen, the worst spy in FBI history was there. The Unabomber. The Unabomber was there for most of his sentence till he got sick and went went to a medical facility. But the Blind Sheik, if you remember him, was there. And so sometimes you’re not there in Supermax because you pose a threat to others and the threat of escape, but rather because you’re so sensitive that other prisoners would love to take a shot at you. And and so that will be Trump. And my guess is he’ll end up in supermax or, you know, some exact opposite, meaning a camp somewhere, a prison camp. Which is on the low end, but Secret Service will have some limited presence. But if you really lock the guy down, like Supermax, you really if you think about it, you just need one agent. When he comes out for a shower or an hour of rec time. That’s it.
