President Trump on Monday criticized former Secretary of State John Kerry for his role in creating the “very badly negotiated” Iran nuclear deal and engaging in “possibly illegal shadow diplomacy.”
“The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal. He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!” Trump tweeted.
The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal. He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2018
The president was referencing a report from the Boston Globe that detailed how Kerry, who served as secretary of state under former President Barack Obama, has been working to preserve the Iran deal.
Kerry has reportedly met with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and other European officials in an attempt to salvage the deal.
Trump often criticizes the Iran nuclear deal and must decide by this Saturday if the U.S. will remain in the agreement, which was negotiated by the Obama administration and signed in 2015. The president has indicated he will withdraw from the deal if it is not altered.
Reports of Kerry’s actions have raised claims he violated the Logan Act, a more than 200-year-old law that bars citizens from acting on behalf of the U.S. in negotiations with foreign governments. No one has ever been prosecuted under the Logan Act.
A spokesperson for Kerry said the former secretary of state was acting as his predecessors do in remaining in contact with former foreign officials and wants the Iran nuclear deal to be effective.
“I think every American would want every voice possible urging Iran to remain in compliance with the nuclear agreement that prevented a war. Secretary Kerry stays in touch with his former counterparts around the world just like every previous secretary of state,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Like America’s closest allies, he believes it is important that the nuclear agreement, which took the world years to negotiate, remain effective as countries focus on stability in the region.”
