The White House petition demanding that the forty-seven Republicans who signed the letter to Iran has surpassed 230,000 signatures in less than three days as the outrage over the overt act of Republican sabotage is showing no signs of slowing.
The We The People Petition states:
On March 9th, 2015, forty-seven United States Senators committed a treasonous offense when they decided to violate the Logan Act, a 1799 law which forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. Violation of the Logan Act is a felony, punishable under federal law with imprisonment of up to three years.
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At a time when the United States government is attempting to reach a potential nuclear agreement with the Iranian government, 47 Senators saw fit to instead issue a condescending letter to the Iranian government stating that any agreement brokered by our President would not be upheld once the president leaves office.
This is a clear violation of federal law. In attempting to undermine our own nation, these 47 senators have committed treason.
Temple University law professor Peter Spiro declared, “This [letter] seems squarely to satisfy the elements of the law.”
Other experts disagree, rome Barron, a professor of Constitutional Law at George Washington University said, “They would make the argument the Logan Act doesn’t apply because they are one of the three branches of government and although the they don’t have the major role of foreign relations, they do, after all, as the senate, confirm treaties,” Barron said. “It’s true this is an executive agreement, but they [the Senate] have some role I suppose. I don’t think they’re in violation of the Logan Act.”
The Justice Department will most likely have something to say in response to the petition. Beyond the argument over the Logan Act, what can’t be denied is that the sense of outrage over the Republican letter is real and still growing.
While the media is busy fretting over Hillary Clinton’s emails, the rest of the country is talking about the Iran letter. Republicans doing bad things has never interested the corporate media, but they would be wise to listen to anger that is growing. Republicans have treated President Obama with disrespect from day one, and the message behind this petition is that hundreds of thousands of Americans aren’t going to take it anymore.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
