Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
The problem with Trump accusing John Kerry of a crime
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-problem-trump-accusing-john-kerry-crime
Secretary of State John Kerry signs the certification to the U.S. government that IAEA certified Iran's compliance in their report, requesting the lifting of the nuclear-related sanctions, Vienna, Jan. 16, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
The problem with Trump accusing John Kerry of a crime
05/09/19 04:05 PM—Updated 05/09/19 04:27 PM
By Steve Benen
snip//
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that John Kerry “should be prosecuted” for allegedly violating the Logan Act through his conversations with Iran, escalating a feud between his administration and the former secretary of State.
“John Kerry violated the Logan Act,” Trump said during a White House press availability. “He’s talking to Iran and has had many meetings and many phone calls and he’s telling them what to do. That is total violation of the Logan Act.”
“John Kerry violated the Logan Act,” Trump said during a White House press availability. “He’s talking to Iran and has had many meetings and many phone calls and he’s telling them what to do. That is total violation of the Logan Act.”
A Kerry spokesperson told Politico in response, “[Trump’s] wrong about the facts, wrong about the law, and sadly he’s been wrong about how to use diplomacy to keep America safe. Secretary Kerry helped negotiate a nuclear agreement that worked to solve an intractable problem. The world supported it then and supports it still. We’d hope the president would focus on solving foreign policy problems for America instead of attacking his predecessors for theater.”
If all of this seems familiar, it’s not your imagination. In September 2018, the president used Twitter to accuse Kerry of holding “illegal meetings with the very hostile Iranian Regime.” Two weeks ago, Trump peddled a similar line, also in a tweet. Today, the Republican made the pitch from a White House podium.
The repetition doesn’t make the attack any better.
snip//
Postscript: If the White House really wants to talk about the impropriety of Americans communicating to Iran in ways that may run counter to the administration’s foreign policy, I’d love to introduce Trump to the 47 Senate Republicans, led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who wrote a letter to Iranian leaders, telling officials not to trust the United States four years ago.