12-26-2016, 09:38 AM
(12-21-2016, 02:04 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:(12-21-2016, 10:56 AM)Anthony Wrote: Since treason is defined as giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States, and "enemy" is defined as a country etc. against which the United States has an active declaration of war - hence the Rosenbergs could only be convicted of espionage, not treason - Trump is not guilty of treason.
That is a worthy point. I note however that spying on the USA is illegal and can get you in jail, even of you are doing it for an ally. Witness the case of the Israeli spy who was jailed. Edward Snowden is considered guilty of treason just for revealing secrets, even though he was in many peoples' eyes a heroic whistleblower.
So Trump could be found guilty of something, depending on how far his agency for Russia goes.
Article 3, Section 3 of the Constitution defines treason. Treason is very limited in its scope:
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.
and the federal criminal code practically repeats the Constitutional definition:
18 U.S. Code § 2381 - Treason
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 807; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(2)(J), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2148.)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2381
The narrowness of the definition makes prosecutions for treason rare. Other treacherous acts include espionage, sabotage, mutiny, being an illegal combatant, being an unregistered foreign agent, war crimes, electoral fraud, genocide, plunder, betrayal of foreign agents, assaults or conspiracies against the President or other federal officials, for which citizenship or status as a resident alien does not apply. Thus doing such acts while having citizenship of a foreign power and having no ties to the United States would not save one from prosecution and punishment. Thus Champ Ferguson, a Confederate guerilla who killed Union soldiers in military hospitals during raids, could be tried and convicted of murder. The conspirators against Abraham Lincoln could not be tried for treason, as there was no longer a Confederate States of America, but they could be tried and hanged for the plot involving the murder of the President and plots to kill members of the Cabinet. Quirin et al was on sabotage mostly by German citizens. The Rosenberg spy ring was convicted of espionage. McVeigh was convicted of murder.
It is easier to see what does not constitute treason under US law than does by legal precedent. One would have to translate deeds of traitors like Quisling, Laval, Mussert, and Szalasi or to Holocaust perpetrators at every level to the USA to establish what would be treason in the USA. Basically one must overthrow a lawfully-constituted government, form a rival government, or participate in a military or political plot to change the sovereignty of the USA in whole or part through force or fraud.
To be a traitor one would have to serve a foreign power overtly, as by participating in a shadow government before the full or partial takeover by a foreign power or participating in an occupation government or transmit blatantly disloyal material (Greetings, American soldiers! You might as well surrender so you don't have to take your chances with our brave kamikaze pilots).
One must first rule out that someone who has committed a harmful deed to America is not incompetent or deceived.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.
