Never Be Traitors in U. S. Senate

There should never be traitors in the U. S. Senate. There should never be traitors in the U. S. Senate, sung to the tune of the SAE ditty.

This should be the anthem of all red blooded Americans. We should not tolerate any treasonous acts from members of Congress. It does not matter if the traitor is the Speaker of the United States House of Representative or 47 Republican Senators with the proverbial “hard on” for the President of the United States.

In this country we gun down black teenagers in the streets who do not comply with the orders of police officers. We choke to death on the sidewalks of America, grown businessmen who question law enforcement’s authority to arrest them. Yet we turn a blind eye to blatant acts of criminality from members of congress.

In 1799, just ten years after the nation was founded, the congress enacted The Logan Act. This law prohibits any unauthorized citizen from negotiating with foreign governments. The Act was named for Dr. George Logan, a Pennsylvania Quaker and state legislator.

Logan, in 1798, sought to negotiate with France in the XYZ Affair. His meddling confused the delicate negotiations that were underway led by President John Adams’ envoy, Elbridge Gerry. After Logan’s visit to France, Congress in its infinite wisdom, deemed it necessary to ban the intervention of unauthorized persons in negotiations with foreign nations. Such negotiations send mixed signals and undermine the President in the conduct of foreign policy.

Fast forward 216 years and we have an outlaw congress meddling in foreign affairs. The exclusive domain of foreign affairs has always,  under our constitution, statutes and case law rested in the President.

John Boehner’s felonious act of inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to speak in the well of the House, in direct opposition to foreign policy negotiations of President Obama was a clear act of sabotage on the President’s handling of sensitive negotiations in the Middle East.

Now this, in a move not to be out done by House Republicans, Senate Republicans get into the act by writing an open  letter to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In their letter, Senate Republicans told the Iranians that because the President only has two years to serve and that their term is for a six year term, they and not the president will have the ultimate power over any negotiated treaty. If this is not what Dr. Logan did back in 1798, I do not know how they could come any closer to replicating his act.

The Justice Department should open a file and investigate Speaker Boehner and all 47 GOP Senators who signed off on the open letter to the Iranians. Otherwise, our system of checks and balances will be destroyed and it will hasten the day when the Republic will be in outright rebellion against itself.

Simply, there should never be traitors in the U. S. Senate. A ditty worthy enough for all Americans to sing.

 

Harold Michael Harvey, is the author of the legal thriller “Paper Puzzle,” and “Justice in the Round: Essays on the American Jury System,” available at Amazon and at haroldmichaelharvey.com. He can be contacted at hmharvey@haroldmichaelharvey.com