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THURSDAY, 12 MARCH 2015

47 Traitors Undermine the President

Ted Vaill: If the agreement with Iran fails because of the interference of the 47 Traitors, and the sanctions against Iran evaporate because of this failure to reach agreement, Iran will be free to proceed with its nuclear weapons program without penalty.

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47 Traitors Undermine the President

BY TED VAILL

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In a new low for partisan gamesmanship, 47 Republican Senators have directly and blatantly sought to undermine President Obama’s efforts, in conjunction with the governments of England, France, Germany, Russia and China, to negotiate a nuclear weapons agreement with Iran. In an “Open Letter” to the leaders of that country, the 47 Senators have warned that President Obama will be in office for less than two more years, and the next President, and the next Congress, may undo any agreement that the P5+1 reach with Iran in the coming months.

This action by the 47 Senators borders on treason, and almost certainly violates the Logan Act, which makes it a felony for any citizen, “without authority of the United States” to carry on a correspondence with a foreign government “with intent to influence the measures or conduct of that government or “to defeat the measures of the United States”. In a prior article in LA Progressive (“Did Boehner Pull a Boner?“, January 29, 2015), I argued that Speaker Boehner violated the Logan Act by inviting Bibi Netanyahu to speak before Congress in opposition to the nuclear weapons agreement with Iran without clearing it first with the President.

Why the Actions of the 47 Traitors Violate the Logan Act

In that earlier article, I outlined the prior times the Logan Act has been considered for use by the government (there has never been a conviction since the Logan Act was enacted in 1799). Now may be the time. Opponents say that the First Amendment free speech concepts have made the Logan Act impotent over the past 200+ years, but these facts remain true:

• The Constitution clearly gives the President the power to make treaties and conduct America’s foreign policy, and the Supreme Court has made this clear in a number of opinions. The Senate can give its Advice and Consent on treaties, but the House has no role, except appropriations.

• The 47 Senators acted without any authority to do so. They say it is just an “open letter ” to the government of Iran, and not a direct communication, but this is nonsense in today’s modern era of communications. Iran’s Foreign Minister has acknowledged receiving this “open letter”, so this is a moot point. The intent of the 47 Senators is clearly to cause Iran not to reach agreement, as they understand its terms now, and to defeat this measure being negotiated by President Obama and the P5+1.

Can the President’s Attorney General indict 47 U. S. Senators and the Speaker of the House for violating the Logan Act? Senator Menendez (D-N.J.) may very well be indicted this month on corruption charges, so why can’t these Senators and the Speaker be indicted for engaging in treasonous conduct well beyond their Congressionally-mandated roles? It also does not appear that the Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution would shield them from being held accountable for these communications with foreign governments.

If the agreement fails because of the interference of the 47 Traitors, they should be prosecuted. Or maybe their children should be drafted to fight the forthcoming war with Iran.

The President’s Options

47 Traitors Undermine the President 

President Obama and the P5+1 have until the end of March, 2015 to reach a tentative agreement with Iran, and until the end of June, 2015 to reach a final agreement.

• One option for the President would be to sign a “sole Executive Order” regarding the Iran agreement, which would require no approval by the Senate, as it would not be a treaty. In fact, President Obama did this in reaching agreement with Syria over destroying its chemical weapons, and numerous past presidents have taken this route.

• There are a number of American sanctions against Iran which have become law in past years, but President Obama has the power to suspend them for various periods of time without going back to Congress for approval. The agreement with Iran would provide for putting in place a series of steps by Iran to demonstrate their compliance with the agreement, with portions of the sanctions lifted with each step, until Iran clearly demonstrates that it will live up to the agreement. Obama could let the other members of the P5+1 lift their sanctions for the first few years of the agreement, and then, long after Obama has left office, the next president would have to deal with Iran’s nuclear program.

• The President could submit the agreement with Iran to the Security Council of the United Nations, which could ratify it and proceed to implement it. This additional layer of legality would make it very hard for a successor to Obama to undo it.

• The President could submit the agreement with Iran to the U.S. Senate, seeking its Advice and Consent. If it fails in the Senate, it would be the fault of the Republican-controlled Senate, and not the President. The 47 Traitors would actually have to make a decision on something.

Ramifications of the Actions of the 47 Traitors

If the agreement with Iran fails because of the interference of the 47 Traitors, and the sanctions against Iran evaporate because of this failure to reach agreement, Iran will be free to proceed with its nuclear weapons program without penalty. The only option left would be for the U.S. and presumably Israel to destroy any of Iran’s weapons facilities militarily. That means war, against a nation with over 77 million people and a huge standing army of nearly one million, with almost 11 million reservists who could be called up, which would further destabilize the Middle East.

The rise of ISIS in Syria and Iraq is being fought by the Syrian government, the Iraqis, and the Kurds, all with the major backing of Shiite Iran, who hate the Sunni ISIS regime. The U.S. has been in the air above ISIS, communicating with Iran via Iraqi intermediaries. This would be impossible to continue to do if the agreement with Iran breaks down, and the U.S. would be forced to intervene militarily, as the American NeoCons who ran George Bush’s wars are lusting to do.

Should Bibi Netanyahu lose his reelection bid next week, and a more moderate Israeli regime take power, the pressure might be off somewhat. If Bibi wins, the pressure will ratchet up even higher. The 47 Traitors are pandering to Bibi, and many of them have taken campaign money from ardent American supporters of Bibi (Senator Tom Cotton, the author of the open letter signed by the 47 Traitors, has taken over $1 million from them in his successful election effort last November to unseat Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor).

If the agreement fails because of the actions of the 47 Traitors and the Speaker, the remaining 22 months of Obama’s Presidency will be crippled. He will not be able to undertake any foreign policy initiatives without the interference of the emboldened Traitors, as the 2016 election approaches. He might as well resign the Presidency and turn it over to Vice President Biden, who may just be interested in running to succeed him.

I guess what I am saying is: show some backbone, now.

Ted Vaill

The TRUTH will set you FREE.