Obama White House Rips Senate Republicans For Their Treasonous Letter To Iran

[onenote]

63. Sigh. Let's go over the Logan Act once more.

The Logan Act has been on the books for 216 years and there has been exactly one indictment under it. One. Many scholars believe that its unconsitutional.

Beyond that, the idea of a progressive citing the Logan Act is bizarre. Yes, the right has threatened from time to time to bring Logan Act charges against, among others, George McGovern, Jesse Jackson, Nancy Pelosi, Stokely Carmichal, Jim Wright, and Jane Fonda. But they never did. Do you really think its a good idea for Democrats to be the ones that resurrect this dead letter of a law?

Most importantly, here's what the Department of State has said about the Logan Act, in connection with a visit by George McGovern and others to meet with Cuban officials in Havana in 1975:

"The clear intent of this provision is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing in section 953, however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties under the Constitution."

An "open letter" from a group of Senators to the Iranian government is an appalling breach of protocol. But it's not a violation of law. It wouldn't be a violation of law if Congress passed sanctions that scuttled the negotiations either. (If you think otherwise, then you have a different view of the propriety of Congress imposing sanctions on South Africa over Reagan's veto).

Elected officials make their views about matters of foreign policy known all the time. While seeking the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama toured a number of foreign nations and met with foreign officials, including, for example, Merkel of Germany. They reportedly discussed US policy in Afghanistan and Iraq. Given that Obama was on record as disagreeing with US policy at that time, your overly-expansive reading of the Logan Act would have rendered Obama's meetings criminal acts, which they most decidedly were not. And if what Jackson, McGovern, Obama and numerous others have done isn't a violation of the Logan Act, this ill-advised, arrogant letter isn't either.

Trying to out stupid the right wing isn't something we should be aspiring to do