On Trump and Treason
“Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”
The idea of treason, and the potential charges of it, have been mentioned more frequently in the past year than at any point I can remember in my lifetime. It is not a light crime, to be sure; suffering death is the first punishment listed before any lesser sentences. In fact, there have only been thirteen total convictions for the charge, the most recent of which came in 1952 (at least according to Wikipedia). To be sure, there does not appear to be a more heinous crime that can be committed against one’s country and yet people are willing to throw around accusations at will right now. Of course, as we know, this vitriolic rhetoric has been levied chiefly at the two people who ran for President last year, with their supporters still calling for opponents’ heads with only a week to go to the inauguration. Why now do we seem so eager to throw these stones? And, more importantly, do we have a point?
I’m writing this in the wake of a potential bombshell that was dropped, separately by CNN and Buzzfeed News, regarding our President Elect, Donald Trump, and the potential information that Russia may be holding over him. The nature of this information, and more accurately its source, has made the allegations unverifiable (at least for now) but they are damaging nonetheless. Even if the specific information, salacious as it is, turns out to be false (I will not be commenting on the golden nature of Mr. Trump’s showers) what we do know is that both President Obama and Trump were briefed on this information. We also know how each of them has reacted to the news stories. But, if these charges turn out to be true can we call it treason?
I do not ask that question lightly. I am aware that similar accusations have been launched towards his presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton. I make no secrets that I am politically liberal, but I don’t want to have a debate about what she may or may not have done regarding emails or Benghazi beyond the facts presented. One thing that sets treason apart from other crimes is that, effectively, it requires intent. In almost every other case ignorance of the law is no excuse, but with treason it most certainly is. Should a person be coerced or unknowingly provide aid to someone who wishes to harm the United States they are not, by law, committing treason. It does, however, make one a fool. Using a private email server, while certainly foolish, is nowhere near showing intent to harm the US.
What troubles me most is the reason why so many of us are more than willing to shout “treason!” at those in power we disagree with. While it is true that the word has been used far more during the 2016 election cycle (and beyond), it isn’t the first time people accused those on the opposition of the heinous crime. There are active petitions (do not follow the link) calling for the impeachment of (soon to be former) President Obama for committing treason. Daily Kos, as recently as 2015, has accused former President Bush of the same thing. The common thread is that those making the allegation disagree with the decisions made by the accused, regardless of the subjects’ intentions. If this were treason, then every one of us would be guilty.
Republicans think Democrats are trying to destroy the fabric of our nation and Democrats believe Republicans are holding us back from being great. We each have a vision of what the USA should be and so the choices and policies made by those on the other side of the aisle do appear, to our perception, to be doing harm to the country that we all love. But we cannot confuse our opinions for fact, and we cannot carry out witch-hunts against those who disagree with our visions for the future and convince ourselves that they mean us harm. That is the exact mindset that got us to this absurdly toxic political environment we live in today. It is this exact rhetoric (growing slowly since the 1980s) that has divided us beyond all recognition.
And yet when I return to the question of Donald Trump I have a hard time not believing there is a chance that he (and/or his team) committed high treason against the United States of America. If the allegations from the CIA and FBI sources are indeed accurate, then I have to conclude that Trump or someone close to him was well aware of the meddling Russia was doing with our electoral process. I have to conclude that FBI Director James Comey willingly withheld this inform while simultaneously reminding the public of Hillary’s email scandal. If any of this turns out to be true I feel that I might have to conclude that Donald Trump, our President Elect, is treasonous.
Ultimately I still can’t bring myself to fully accuse him from my tiny soapbox. That’s why I pulled my punch at the end of the last paragraph. It is very possible that, should these revelations have any veracity, that he was just being played and used by Vladimir Putin. That would not constitute intent according to the law. Even so, I know there are many on the left who will condemn him on this charge as those on the right did to Obama. They will say, forever, that he is treasonous and a traitor. For our sake as a nation, I hope he’s not. But if my hopes are the reality, then the truth is no less unsettling. If Donald Trump is not treasonous, then he is a fool. I don’t know which scenario scares me more
