.
- Summary point 1
- Summary point 2
- Summary point 3
by Jon Sutz, Editor, SaveTheWest.com
Even before President Trump stepped foot in Helsinki, Finland, left-leaning political figures and activist groups were claiming he was committing “treason” by meeting with Russian President Vladmir Putin. Since then, their claims that he is a “traitor” have expanded, and are based on three key allegations:
(1) That Russia (or Russian operatives) engaged in efforts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election
(2) That Putin has secret, incriminating evidence that he’s using to blackmail Trump to act in ways he otherwise would not, to the detriment of America and our ally nations
(3) That President Trump committed treason, by “giving aid and comfort to an enemy,” when he said he believed Putin’s denial that Russia meddled in the election (which Trump walked back the next day, after claiming he misspoke)
Regarding (1), note that all of this occurred under President Obama’s watch, he knew at least some of what was happening, and not only did nothing to stop it, his national cyber-security czar recently admitted that in the summer of 2016, he was ordered by the Obama White House to “stand down” in regards to his efforts to expose Russia’s election-meddling activities.
Regarding (2), there is zero evidence to support any of this. It is another manifestation of the fake anti-Trump smears contained in the “Steele Dossier,” for which the Clinton campaign paid $12 million, which was itself produced in part by Russian operatives. It alleged that Putin had incriminating photos of Trump in a Moscow hotel engaging in bizarre sexual behavior; it was later proven to be completely untrue.
Regarding (3) did President Trump really commit treason? The only way to answer this question is to start by defining the term, and under what conditions it is prosecutable, under U.S. law.
The definition of treason
According to the Article III, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution (and 18 U.S. Code § 2381), “treason” is defined as:
“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.”
Here we have two distinct elements:
(1) Levying war against the United States — which is largely covered under the laws of rebellion and sedition
(2) Providing aid and comfort to enemies of the United States — which is what we will focus on in this discussion
According to The Legal Dictionary, to be convicted of treason, one must have committed “disloyal acts during times of war,” and demonstrated “a traitorous intent.”
U.S. law says President Trump has not commit treason
By these definitions, President Trump’s meeting with, and statements regarding President Putin were not “treason,” for the following reasons:
(1) The United States and Russia are not at war — which only Congress can declare
(2) Russia is not a legally declared “enemy” of the United States
Regardless of how one feels about Trump, and what he said in Helsinki (or afterwards), by no stretch of reason or law can such statements be construed as “treason.”
Yet for almost 72 hours, the national mainstream news media (MSM) has been featuring a round-the-clock gaggle of commenters from high and low stations who have been falsely claiming Trump committed “treason,” and must be prosecuted or impeached.
Here, for example, is Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA), arguing to Tucker Carlson that Trump indeed committed treason (8 minutes):
And here is John Brennan — who served as Obama’s CIA Director from 2013-2017, during which all these alleged Russian activities occurred — yet as we’ll learn below, did nothing to stop it:
Given the lofty positions that these figures hold in the Democratic Party, and the prominent platforms they are given by the national MSM, an American citizen should have every expectation that when they make public statements on a matter of this importance, they are being honest, thoughtful and accurate.
So are they merely mistaken — or are they deliberately lying to the American people?
Background: Russia has been interfering in U.S. elections — and much more — systems since the 1950s
https://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/34-years-ago-a-kgb-defector-described-america-today
In what is perhaps a most striking passage in the interview, here’s how Bezmenov described the state of a “demoralized” person:
“As I mentioned before, exposure to true information does not matter anymore,” said Bezmenov. “A person who was demoralized is unable to assess true information. The facts tell nothing to him. Even if I shower him with information, with authentic proof, with documents, with pictures; even if I take him by force to the Soviet Union and show him [a] concentration camp, he will refuse to believe it, until he [receives] a kick in his fan-bottom. When a military boot crashes his balls then he will understand. But not before that. That’s the [tragedy] of the situation of demoralization.”
The Russians’ presence in U.S. electoral systems was so well-known in the corridors of power in Washington, DC, that Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) offered to collude with the socialist tyranny for the purpose of derailing President Reagan’s quest for re-election, in 1984.
http://thefederalist.com/2015/03/10/ted-kennedy-secretly-asked-the-soviets-to-intervene-in-the-1984-elections/
[DETAILS]
Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of Americans are completely unaware of this history, and it is not being taught in our schools. This lack of awareness is rendering America even more vulnerable to manipulation and subversion, because everything we are now witnessing is being presented to us as unprecedented, is anything but.
A far stronger legal claim of treason could be made against President Obama, regarding the Iran nuclear “deal”
On October 22, 2012, during the final debate of the 2012 election campaign, President Obama was asked about rumors swirling that he had been conducting secret discussions with the leaders of Iran — long-known as the world’s #1 state sponsor of terrorism — regarding a “deal” concerning its quest to develop nuclear weapons, and the means to deliver them.
In response, Obama promised that if re-elected, he would only accept a deal with Iran that requires the complete dismantling of its nuclear program:
Bob Schieffer (moderator): “As you know, there are reports that Iran and the United States a part of an international group, have agreed in principle to talks about Iran’s nuclear program. What is the deal, if there are such talks? What is the deal that you would accept, Mr. President?”
Obama: “[O]ur goal is to get Iran to recognize it needs to give up its nuclear program and abide by the U.N. resolutions that have been in place. [T]he deal we’ll accept is they end their nuclear program. It’s very straightforward.”
At the time he made this statement, Obama knew the following facts about Iran:
(1) Although Iran has never been declared by the Congress to be an enemy nation, since 1984 the U.S. government has classified it as the #1 largest state sponsor of terrorism
On April 18, 1983, the Iranian-backed Islamist terror group Hezbollah mounted a suicide bombing attack in front of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. The attack killed 17 Americans, and 46 other people.
Then, on October 23, 1983, Hezbollah mounted another suicide bombing attack in Beirut, this time against the U.S. Marine barracks. 220 U.S. Marines, 18 Navy personnel and three Army personnel were killed.
On January 19, 1984, the U.S. State Department declared Iran a state sponsor of terrorism, a short list of nations that it soon came to dominate, and has topped ever since.
(2) Open-source evidence that Iran played a key role in helping Al Qaeda to perpetrate the 9/11 attacks, and had been aiding the terror group ever since
The 9/11 Commission Report contained a vast amount of evidence that since the early 1990s, Iran and al Qaeda had put aside their sectarian differences (Sunni vs Shia Islam) so they could collaborate to facilitate, support and execute acts of terrorism against America and Israel, which they view as their common enemies.
Then, on December 22, 2011, a federal court in New York ruled that the evidence presented in a multi-year trial, brought by the surviving family members of those killed in the 9/11 attacks (Havlish v bin Laden, et al) demonstrated the following facts:
Iran provided “essential, direct, material support for the 9/11 attacks.”
– Havlish v. bin Laden, et al; Conclusions of Law #116, p.22.
“Iran provided direct support to al Qaeda specifically for the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Washington, DC (Shanksville, Pennsylvania) on September 11, 2001.”
– Havlish v. bin Laden, et al; Conclusions of Law #19, p.51.
“(Iran’s) provision of material support (to Al Qaeda, for the perpetration of the 9/11 attacks, came from) Iran’s Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, and his subordinates.”
Havlish v. bin Laden, et al; Conclusions of Law #20, p.51.
Further, the judgment asserted that Iran had provided material support for Al Qaeda ever since the 9/11 attacks:
“Since the 9/11 attacks, and continuing to the present day, Iran continues to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda.”
– Havlish v. bin Laden, et al; Conclusions of Law #27, p.52.
The court later ordered Iran to pay a $7 billion judgment to the surviving family members, and seized a New York office building that was owned by Iran, worth an estimated half-billion dollars, auctioned it off, and gave the proceeds to the plaintiffs.
On July 31, 2012 — less than three months before Obama’s statement in the third presidential debate — the left-leaning Brookings Institution published a report that gave further evidence of Iran’s collaboration with Al Qaeda:
Unlikely Alliance: Iran’s Secretive Relationship with Al-Qaeda, by Daniel L. Byman, IHS Defense, Risk and Security Consulting (via Brookings Institution), July 31, 2012.
(3) The evidence seized in May 2011 from Bin Laden’s hideout further proved Iran’s long-term assistance to, and collaboration with Al Qaeda — but it wasn’t publicly released until November 2017
On May 2, 2011, U.S. Navy SEALS raided Osama Bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, killed the terror leader, and retrieved what was described as a treasure trove of physical intelligence assets. As CBS News reported, on May 4, 2011:
The raid on Osama bin Laden’s Pakistan home produced what could be the biggest intelligence windfall since 9/11. Some of the most critical evidence was recovered from Osama bin Laden himself.
CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports that after Navy SEALS scrambled away with the body of the al Qaeda leader, they made a startling discovery: Sewn inside bin Laden’s clothing was cash, 500 Euros, and two phone numbers apparently intended to aid an escape. […]
The bin Laden compound gave up more evidence than U.S. officials had ever expected: At least five computers, a dozen hard drives, storage devices such as DVDs and thumb drives and more than one hundred computer disks. The SEALs also grabbed handwritten notes, weapons, and an assortment of personal items that could reveal key clues about other high-ranking al Qaeda leaders and potential plots. It appears everything was being brought to and from the compound by couriers.
It wasn’t until November 2017, however, that the CIA revealed excerpts from the intelligence, that showed conclusive proof of Iran’s collaboration with Al Qaeda. The following are but a few news articles that contain deep analysis of this evidence:
Iran’s Secret Funding For al-Qaeda In Exchange For Attacks On U.S. Targets Exposed in Bin Laden Files, by Callum Paton, Newsweek, November 2, 2017.
Notes found in Osama bin Laden’s compound appear to bolster US claims of Iranian link to al-Qaeda; Supposed al-Qaeda document released by CIA depicts history of terror group’s relationship with Iran – but Tehran derides it as fake news, by the Associated Press (via the South China Morning Post), November 3, 2017.
CIA documents ‘conclusive proof of Al-Qaeda-Iran ties,’ by Siraj Wahab, Agency Press-France (via Arab News), November 3, 2017.
Al-Qaeda Has Rebuilt Itself—With Iran’s Help; Interviews with al-Qaeda members and bin Laden’s family reveal a pact that allowed the group to prepare for its next phase, by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark, The Atlantic, November 11, 2017.
Is it credible to believe that the CIA didn’t report this information to President Obama between the time of the raid in May 2011, and October 2012, when he acknowledged to the American people that he was seeking a deal with Iran, and what it would contain?
We believe it is reasonable to assume that Obama knew or had very strong indication of this evidence, at the time of the October 2012 debate. Yet neither he nor anyone in his administration gave any hint that such evidence was in his possession — and never once mentioned the Havlish verdict — throughout the remainder of his presidency.
(4) Since 1983, Iran has been aiding and paying Islamist terrorists to murder U.S. soldiers
In addition to the twin bombings in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983 that murdered 257 U.S. military and diplomatic personnel, since the 9/11 attacks that it helped Al Qaeda to perpetrate, Iran has also been arming, training and paying Islamist terrorists to murder U.S. soldiers, primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan:
Iran Is Helping Iraq Insurgents, U.S. Military Says, by Alex Chadwick and Mike Shuster, NPR, April 11, 2007.
Iran pays Taliban fighters in Afghanistan $1,000 per head to kill U.S. soldiers: report, by Meena Hartenstein, NY Daily News, September 5, 2010.
Report: Iran pays $1,000 for each U.S. soldier killed by the Taliban, NBC News, September 5, 2010.
Leaked Reports Detail Iran’s Aid for Iraqi Militias, by Michael Gordon and Andrew Lehrenoct, New York Times, October 22, 2010.
Weapons prove Iranian role in Iraq, U.S. says, by Ed O’Keefe and Joby Warrick, Washington Post, July 5, 2011.
Iran has never apologized for, or paid any price for the thousands of U.S. military personnel whom it had murdered or injured since the 9/11 attacks that it helped to perpetrate.
Obama knew all this at the time he made his promises regarding Iran to the American people in October 2012.
(5) Iran’s long history of finding ways to evade sanctions imposed by the U.S. and U.N. and violate agreements made with the international community
At the time Obama made his promise to the American people regarding the basic elements of the “deal” he would accept with Iran, he knew (or should have known) of Iran’s almost uninterrupted history of violating imposed on it by the U.S., United Nations and the international community.
Many Americans, however, have little to no knowledge of this, because it is generally not discussed in either our schools, or national MSM.
Here is a starting point from which to begin understanding this history:
A Study of Iran’s Responses to U.S. Economic Sanctions, by the Rubin Center, September 1999.
U.S. Says Iran Broke Nuke Treaty, by Dan Collins, CBS News, September 12, 2003.
Promises Before and Results After Khomeini’s Islamists Took Over, by Elmer Swenson, Gems of Islamism, June 27, 2005.
A Summary of Sanctions Against Iran, by Josh Levs, CNN, January 23, 2012.
Fact Sheets: The Failure of Sanctions Against Iran, by the Jewish Virtual Library.
Further, even after Obama made his promises, and was negotiating the “deal” with Iran, he knew (or should have known) that Iran was violating its agreements made during this period:
Iran’s long list of broken promises: Rouhani’s pledge to defend human rights should have been delivered with a cynical snicker, by Ilan Berman and Mollie Adatto, The Washington Times, December 5, 2013.
Iran Violates Past Nuclear Promises on Eve of Deal, by Adam Kredo, Washington Free Beacon, July 2, 2015.
In summary, there was an abundance of objective, verifiable evidence that no matter what Iran’s mullahs agreed to, in order to get Obama to release the $100 billion it had frozen, and lift the crippling economic sanctions, it had no intention to abide by whatever “deal” that was struck, supposedly to stop its quest for nuclear weapons, and the means to deliver them.
(5) Iran’s leaders never renounced their pledge to destroy the U.S.
The specific ways that President Obama betrayed the American people, and aided Iran and Hezbollah
On June x, 2015, Obama claimed the “deal” he struck with the Iranian mullahs would “cut off all avenues” for Iran to obtain nukes, and the means to deliver them. [SOURCES]
(1) Obama concealed from the U.S. Senate various “side deals” he made with Iran’s mullahs, before it voted on the “deal”
(2) Obama lied about what the “deal” would do, regarding preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons
(3) Obama’s administration constructed what it later termed an “echo chamber” to lie and bully the American people and the Senate into
(4) Obama released more than $100 billion in cash to the Iranian mullahs,
(5) Obama stymied an inter-agency task force created to stop Hezbollah from smuggling massive amounts of drugs into America, in order to keep his “deal” with Iran on track
(6) Obama used taxpayer money to pay billions in ransoms to Iran, to release Americans it was holding hostage, this breaking with long-standing U.S. policy.
(7) Obama sent Secretary of State John Kerry on a worldwide junket to help generate business for Iran
Who”s been toughest on Russia & Putin
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Rep. <a href=”https://twitter.com/SteveScalise?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@SteveScalise</a>: "The actual meddling in the election happened under President Obama's watch." <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hannity?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Hannity</a> <a href=”https://t.co/fCm3rFwOS4″>pic.twitter.com/fCm3rFwOS4</a></p>— Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href=”https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1019805279393738752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>July 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
TIMELINE
March 2013: John Brennan is confirmed as Obama’s new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, a post he will hold until January 2017.
July 2014: The Washington Post calls on President Obama to fire Brennan, after he publicly denied that the CIA illegally spied on the Senate Intelligence Committee, a charge that was soon proven true
March 2016: CIA Director John Brennan makes secret trip to Russia, in which he meets with the Federal Security Service (formerly the KGB)
New report claims DNC hack was an inside job — not Russia, by Bob Fredericks, NY Post, August 15, 2017.
June 2018: President Obama’s cyber-security czar admits that in the summer of 2016, he was ordered by National Security Adviser Susan Rice to “stand down” in regards to suspected Russian electronic interference in the presidential election
July 18, 2018: Ex-CIA Chief Brennan Warns Intel Community May Begin to “Withhold Vital Intelligence” From President Trump to Protect Information
Meddling in our elections?
Non-citizens legally register to vote in San Francisco school elections, by Don Sweeney, Sacramento Bee, July 18, 2018.