President Trump’s savvier critics know they can’t accuse him of a genuine act of treason in Helsinki, so some are looking for ways to say as much without actually saying it.
Presidential historian and CNN contributor Douglas Brinkley, for example, argued this week that Trump did not technically commit treason by deferring repeatedly to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a joint press conference overseas, but that the spirit of what the president did was “clearly treasonous.”
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Words games are neat.
The problem with accusing Trump of “aiding and abetting” the enemy, Brinkley said, “is that Russia is not officially right now considered enemy of the United States.”
Well, yes. That would be a problem so far as accusing Trump of treason goes, now wouldn’t it?
Brinkley continued, saying, “Donald Trump has got kind of the slippery slope of legal language in his favor. But the spirit of what Trump did is clearly treasonous. It’s a betrayal of the United States. He threw our U.S. intelligence services, flushed them away and it came off as being a puppet of Putin.”
“So the word treason like impeachment, like obstruction of justice, are going to be out there in public discourse louder and longer right now,” he added. “But certainly people are going to say that there’s the taint of treason around this White House.”
If you can believe it, this isn’t the dumbest treason-related thing that has been said this week about Trump’s disastrous performance in Helsinki. That particular honor goes to the person who also started this treason talk, and that would be former CIA director, known liar, and drone war enthusiast John Brennan.
“Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes & misdemeanors,’” Brennan tweeted after the presser. “It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???”
[‘A very bad guy’: Trump rips ex-CIA Director John Brennan for ‘treasonous’ remark]
Brennan said later on the “Today Show,” “When I use the term, this is ‘nothing short of treasonous,’ I equate it to the betrayal of one’s nation, aiding, abetting, giving comfort to an enemy.”
He followed-up on “Morning Joe” with, “What Mr. Trump did yesterday was to betray the women and men of the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and others, and to betray the American public.”
“And that’s why I use the term that this was ‘nothing short of treasonous.’ Because it is a betrayal of the nation. He’s giving aid and comfort to the enemy. It needs to stop, and Mr. Trump needs to understand there will be consequences for him too.”
As I noted yesterday, accusing Trump of treason may feel good, but it betrays a lack of understanding of the word.
For the Putin presser to qualify as treason, Russia would have to be a declared enemy of the U.S. Russia is a hostile foreign power, but it is not a declared enemy. For Brennan’s tantrum to make sense, there needs to be a declaration of war and/or open war between the U.S. and Russia. But we’re not at war with Russia, as even Brinkley noted on CNN.
Brennan is smart enough to know all of this. He just doesn’t care. Then again, the truth and Brennan have long been at odds, so I guess this treason business is just par for the course.
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Full disclosure: This author is a paid contributor with CNN/HLN.
