They keep using this word. I do not think it means what they think it means. Ret. Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, who fled Fox News for CNN in March, accused President Trump this week of treason.
“Collusion outright may not be a crime in and of itself,” he said in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “[but] treason is a crime. Collaborating and conspiring with a hostile foreign power against the United States is a crime.”
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[Related: Trump echoes Giuliani: ‘Collusion is not a crime’]
Peters added, “Receiving material support, clandestine material support from a hostile foreign power is a crime. And we get to the people around Trump. Money laundering is a crime. Tax fraud is a crime. Lying under oath is a crime.”
Let’s back this train up for a second and look at his treason allegation. The politest way to respond is to say: He’s full of it.
Like presidential historian and fellow CNN contributor Douglas Brinkley, and former CIA director, known liar, and drone war enthusiast John Brennan, Peters’ is throwing out an accusation that runs contrary to the U.S.’ definition of treason. As I’ve noted elsewhere, accusing Trump of treason may give a person a nice, warm feeling, but it also shows they lack a proper understanding of the word.
To claim Trump is guilty of treason for having allegedly accepted aid from the Russians during the 2016 presidential election, Russia would have to be a declared enemy of the U.S. Spoiler alert: Russia is not a declared enemy state.
Russia is certainly a hostile foreign power, and it most certainly has its sights set on defeating the U.S. globally. But it’s not a declared enemy. For the accusations leveled by Peters and Brennan to stick, there would need to be a declaration of war (or open war!) between the U.S. and Russia.
Double spoiler alert: We’re not at war with Russia. Until we are, Peters and the rest of them are talking out of their hats.
Let’s maybe cut it with farcical and overly generous interpretation of U.S. Code Title 18 Section 2381. Bold statements of treason may be good for ratings, and it’ll keep the TV invites coming, but it’s bad for public discourse.
Lastly, because I feel like we keep losing sight of facts here, the Trump administration is actually tough on Russia, passing severe sanctions and arming the Ukrainians. That this apparently counts for nothing in larger discussions of the Russia investigation is quickly becoming a fascinating story all on its own.
For good measure, Peters also likened the president to Joseph Stalin and Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Peters said Trump was working to move the spotlight “against the press, the ‘lügenpresse,’ as Goebbels would have said, or ‘the enemy of the people.’ … under Stalin during the purges, if you were called an enemy of the people, it was a death sentence.”
Because if you throw enough garbage at the wall, something is bound to stick, right?
