USA Today: Donald Trump may even have committed treason.

[ffr]

Last edited Thu Oct 3, 2019, 07:08 PM - Edit history (1)

Donald Trump is much worse than Richard Nixon. He may even have committed treason



Because of this mixed legacy, Nixon ranks as the 28th best president (or the 16th worst, depending on how you look at it) in a 2017 C-SPAN survey of historians. In 10 categories, he scores near the middle for most, though 10th for “International Relations.” But in terms of “Moral Authority” he’s near the bottom, ranked 42nd. Lying to the American people and covering up a Constitution-shredding crime will do that to a guy.

Trump vs. Nixon is no contest
<snip>

Trump is worse than Nixon....What Trump has done is far more damaging to our country. To me, it can be summed up from just one event: his infamous meeting in the Oval Office in May 2017 with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

It was bad enough that Trump revealed highly classified information that, according to two unnamed officials cited in The New York Times, exposed an intelligence source in the Middle East. But we’ve since learned — based on three sources obtained by The Washington Post — that Trump told his Kremlin guests he didn't care that the Russians had interfered in our 2016 election.

Aid and comfort equals treason

An enemy attacks us and our commander in chief doesn’t care? If this is true then I will use, for the first time, a word that distresses me deeply: treason. This isn’t just my view. Article 3, Section 3 of our beloved Constitution says: “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”

The Russians attacked us. If the commander in chief who swore to defend us said it didn’t bother him, this is “giving them aid and comfort.” The Russians are surely gearing up for more mayhem in 2020, and what does Trump care? Treason.

Now we learn that Trump has leaned on foreign governments like Ukraine and Australia to dig up dirt that would help him politically. For all his dirty tricks, Richard Nixon would never have dreamed of doing that.

Trump is a man with no ethical compass or shred of decency. Worse than Nixon? Worse in every way. And worse than all the rest. - USA Today Opinion

[uponit7771]

1. Trump no doubt gave aide and comfort to the Russians

[Baltimike]

2. cyber war is an act of war. nt

[triron]

3. Yet the naysayers here insist on a 'declared shooting war'.

This will never happen again, at least against a nuclear or other mass destruction bearing nation.
It would be lost (more like civilization) before the declaration got approved by congress.

[Baltimike]

6. which means other countries can't declare war on us...only we to them

it's bullshit. This whole "hot war" thing is bullshit.

[triron]

9. Yep. Just as the DOJ memo that says a sitting POTUS can't be indicted.

[AlexSFCA]

41. memo is not a law

[lagomorph777]

45. +1 It's a completely spurious claim that a "Formal Congressionally-declared war" is required.

Absolute bullshit when you read the actual words of the Constitution.

Same is true for the claim that you can't indict a sitting President.

[Baltimike]

46. thank you for this

I can't tell you how many times I get gaslighted about it

[TwilightZone]

34. It requires an enemy involved in hostilities.

Treason and enemy have specific legal definitions. Just because you don't agree with them doesn't mean that they don't exist.

Treason includes: "levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort "

Treason: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2381

The key word if one chooses to ignore the "war" part of the statement, as many do, is "enemies". Enemy has a very specific legal definition defined in the War and National Defense section of the US Code.

As noted below, it means an enemy involved in active hostilities. Just because we think Russia is an enemy (an assertion that I agree with) doesn't mean that treason applies. It quite intentionally only applies in very narrow circumstances, which is why it's almost never pursued legally.

"According to 50 USCS § 2204 [Title 50. War and National Defense; Chapter 39. Spoils of War], enemy of the United States means any country, government, group, or person that has been engaged in hostilities, whether or not lawfully authorized, with the United States;"

https://definitions.uslegal.com/e/enemy-of-the-united-states/

Also, a cold war isn't enough to qualify. Considering that the Rosenbergs couldn't be tried for treason because the Cold War wasn't an actual war with "hostilities", it almost assuredly doesn't apply now.

That won't stop people from insisting otherwise, which is fine. Just understand that you're almost assuredly using it incorrectly, as are numerous others, including countless members of the media.

[Baltimike]

37. they became our enemy when they hacked us. Cyber war is an act of war. nt

[triron]

43. yessir!

[NCLefty]

35. Since election security IS national security, I would have to agree.

[Midnight Writer]

4. Nixon scuttled the Paris Peace talks as an election ploy, ensuring years of horrific senseless war.

Treasonous in my view.

[roamer65]

7. Yes, settled for nearly the same terms 4 years and 26,000 lives later.

I hope the fucker is rotting in hell.

[JohnnyRingo]

38. And the blood of every soldier killed after that is on his hands.

We don't know if LBJ could have ended the war, but Nixon made sure he couldn't.

LBJ wanted Nixon charged with treason, but he didn't want to disclose that he had the Vietnam embassy bugged. That alone would have ended peace talks so he buried the recordings of Tricky Dick betraying his country just so his wife wouldn't have to wear a cloth coat.

Seriously, is there a republican who doesn't enjoy rinsing the dirty corruption from their hands with the blood of the soldiers they claim to revere?

[Iwasthere]

5. Thank you for posting. Giving them aid and comfort

We are well past that. It IS treason Dammit! We have a traitor in the Whitehouse,

[gratuitous]

8. Remember how incorruptible Candidate Trump was supposed to be?

You know, he had a self-proclaimed net worth of TEN BILLION DOLLARS, and his fanboiz all said that he couldn't be bought, couldn't be bribed, because of his fantabulous wealth.

When all the skeletons finally come clattering out of the closet, one of the more appalling aspects (for me, at least) will be how cheaply Trump sold out the United States.

[Lucky Luciano]

10. No shit.

Name one billionaire that doesn’t want another billion.

Of course he can be bought.

Ok besides maybe JK Rowling

[ffr]

14. +1 Thanks for reminding.

You just destroyed that whole argument.

[NewJeffCT]

42. In listening to the audiobook of "Proof of Conspiracy"

from Seth Abramson, it was kind of striking to me that a lot of the business deals that Trump has done in the 2000s were in the $8 million to $10 million range. Sure, that's a ton of money to 99.9% of Americans, but for a guy that's supposedly a multi-billionaire and a big-time wheeler-dealer, it was kind of striking to me as a person that works in finance and accounting.

Seth did not focus on the total dollar amounts, just the suspicious nature of the transactions and the others involved in the transactions. But, to me, if Donny was really that rich, he'd be doing $80 million to $100 million deals or $200 million to $500 million.

But, to me, the guy that wrote Trump Nation was pretty close to the money when he said that Trump was really worth $150 million to $250 million.

[Cha]

11. "May".. I hope we can

bloody well prove it!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

13. news proves it to reasonable people

However, there may be nuances in precedent or other facets of the law that make it more difficult. I'd settle for the whole Trump clan in state or federal prisons for lesser offenses that are easier to prove.

[Cha]

16. Right.. trump is assisting in his own

impeachment nails.

he acts like he thinks Impeachment will be the best thing for him.

[Blue Owl]

12. Ah yes, the good ol' USA Today "Devil May Care" treatment

[Stuart G]

15. Written by: Paul Brandus, Opinion columnist, Published 3:15 a.m. ET- Oct. 3, 2019.- USA Today

[ffr]

17. ?

[thesquanderer]

20. It's not the opinion of USA Today. It's an op-ed columnist, which is a very different thing. (n/t)

[ffr]

30. Overlooked on my behalf. It wasn't presented that way on Google news search

I'll add to link

[Wounded Bear]

18. Nixon, Reagan, Trump...

Nixon--reports he colluded with the North Vietnamese to delay peace talks prior to his election

Reagan--reports he colluded with Iranian rebels holding American hostages to delay release until after his election

Trump--reports he colluded with Russia for electronic assistance in 2016, and with Ukraine to attack an opponent in 2019/20

Anybody see a pattern here?

Your Republican Party at work.

[peggysue2]

19. May, Might, Could Have

At least we've reached the conditional stage. LOL.

Remember the good old days when the press was loathe to call Trump out for his lies? And then, the prohibition dissolved and we actually saw the words fabulist, fabrications and yes . . . LIES, big fat ones, Whoppers.

The pendulum swings slow in the Trumpster years. But it is beginning to swing back from the Twilight Zone of Trumplandia.

[JonLP24]

21. Of course he committed treason

I have been saying that for a long time.

[iluvtennis]

22. From article: "Trump is a man with no ethical compass or shred of decency" +++++ agree

[dchill]

23. "...worse than all the rest."

Indeed.

[RainCaster]

24. Interesting idea but...

I view that rag as the "newspaper for the illiterate". I only bother to read it if it is outside my hotel room door, and I don't see a WSJ on the way to the elevator. Of course, I never take it seriously, as they way oversimplify everything because they view their readers as drooling dolts.

[drmeow]

40. On the other hand

If USA Today can get that message to their drooling idiot readers maybe support for impeachment and imprisonment will rise!

[CloudWatcher]

25. Let's be fair, he's not the first traitor in the White House

I like one-liners to remind myself of how poorly our leaders have done ... the highlights I remember:

Kennedy - stupid - Bay of Pigs
Johnson - stupid - Pentagon Papers
Nixon - traitor - undermined the Paris peace talks
Ford - traitor - pardoned Nixon, made Presidents above the law
Carter - unlucky - sand took out the helicopters
Reagan - traitor - delayed release of Iran hostages
Bush 1 - traitor - Iran–Contra
Clinton - stupid - lied about sex
Bush 2 - war criminal - invaded Iraq
Obama - poor fashion sense - wore a tan suit
Trump - treason - Russian agent

Anyone else see a pattern? Seems the Dems have occasionally been stupid or unlucky but the GOP has a lock on treason.

[Liberty Belle]

28. Agree except Ford pardon didn't meet definition of traitor, no foreign enemy involved.

It was a huge mistake and possibly criminal if he agreed to the pardon as a condition of getting appointed VP, but not treason.

[CloudWatcher]

29. agree

My working definition is somewhat looser -- doing great damage to the Republic. The pardon was a terrible precedent.

[StarryNite]

26. Tricky Trump

Step aside Tricky Dick, Tricky Trump has arrived.

[CloudWatcher]

27. Reminder about who took that famous photo

The credits on that photo: Russian Foreign Ministry via AFP/Getty Images

The US press was not invited to that meeting. I think we initially learned about it from the Russian press.

[beachbumbob]

31. I would dearly love this to be elevated to a discussion of treason and as

commander in chief, be prosecuted under military justice. As well as all his collaborators. Let's talk treason.

[ffr]

32. He is the highest ranking military officer in the US. I'm sure officers have been sentenced for less

[Botany]

33. "Trump told his Kremlin guests he didn't care that the Russians had interfered in our 2016 election"

Impeach his ass and let the Senate GOPers stand up proudly alongside that treasonous bastard.

BTW bottom of pg. 4 and the top of pg. 5 of the Whistleblower's report points out that some of the
same actors that Trump and company were reaching out to in the Ukraine in 2019 were also actors
in the rat fucking of the 2016 elections too.

[IndyOp]

36. Ok - opinion - good. We need editorials from papers across the nation

[Collimator]

39. Nixon had actual abilities as a politician. . .

. . .And as a goverment leader. Loath as we may be to admit, he did do some good.

Trump is constitutionally unable to act in the interests of others. (Pun intended.)

For all his lifetime of lies, his oath of office was the biggest and most profound lie that he ever told.

[Nitram]

44. Nixon DID commit treason. He undermined the Paris Peace Talks for political gain.