Democrats accused Donald Trump of committing treason this week after he encouraged Russia to hack into DNC computer files and now, a new breach of Hillary Clinton’s campaign server has prompted calls for his prosecution.
On Thursday, Democrats cried “treason” after U.S. Sec of Agriculture Tom Vilsack suggested Trump may have violated federal law when he encouraged Russia to hack into American computer files, reports the USA Today.
“That’s a no-no. You can’t do that. That’s not legal, that’s not right….Donald Trump sided with Russia and not with us.”
His accusation follows Trump’s statements Wednesday night when the Republican presidential nominee invited a foreign country to insert itself into American politics, according to the USA Today.
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.”
The Logan Act, enacted 200 years ago in 1978, was designed to stop Americans from committing treason by conducting foreign policy on their own without the approval of the U.S. government. It prohibits Americans from engaging in correspondence with any foreign government with the intent to change their behavior toward the U.S. or to defeat the U.S.
No one has ever been found guilty of violating the Logan Act since it was created, but the law has been used in the past to cast doubt on political opposition parties.
After being accused of treason, Trump backtracked and said he was only being sarcastic, but now, a second security breach has Democrats blaming Russia and calling for Donald’s prosecution, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid told Newsmax.
“A lot of people are saying that this [Trump’s comments] went too far and some action should be taken.”
A Harvard Law professor thinks Trump's "jokes" could be treason https://t.co/y9LjSxvs0K | AP pic.twitter.com/mccOPvFz8q
— POLITICO (@politico) July 28, 2016
Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, from Michigan, agreed with Reid’s statements saying Donald Trump’s actions raised some serious legal questions, according to Newsmax.
“There should definitely be an investigation.”
The hacking attack targeted an analytics program used by the Clinton campaign to conduct voter analysis, which doesn’t contain any private voter information; the internal servers of the Clinton campaign remain secure.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s national security division is investigating the hack of Hillary’s campaign servers because of the similarities with the details in the DNC hack, which Democrats blame Russia for.
Russia has denied any involvement with the DNC hack or the breach in Clinton’s campaign security systems, but top Democrats are outraged that Trump may have helped leak important information during an election year.
Judging by a spike in "treason" definitions online, many people seem to be wondering the same thing: https://t.co/WgOuAgTwcG
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) July 29, 2016
CIA director, John O. Brennan declined to comment, but he told the New York Times that accusations of treason were very serious.
“Obviously, interference in the U.S. election process is a very, very serious matter, and I think certainly this government would treat it with great seriousness.”
Other Democrats were more concerned with Trump’s cavalier attitude than any accusation of treason or association with Russia. They called into question Donald’s statements when the Republican candidate defended his Russian hacking statements, reports Vox.
“Honestly, I wish I had that power. I’d love to have that power.”
If Donald wins the presidential election, he will have that power. The NSA, as we learned from whistleblower Edward Snowden, has incredibly sophisticated computer hacking capabilities that could easily be turned on the American people.
I absolutely agree 100% with the statement below…..arrest Donald J Trump for Treason!@realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/aAL1Pwzouu
— Mary (@lovealaska1105) July 28, 2016
The allegations of Trump committing treason come on the heels of both the Republican and Democratic nominating conventions. Afterward, political experts declared victory for the Democrats when they described the DNC as portraying American values and the RNC as being centered on Russia and Trump, as conservative blogger AGConservative tweeted to TalkingPointsMemo.
“Still stunned. Feel like I’m in the twilight zone. Obama just defended America & conservative values from attacks by the Republican nominee.”
Did Trump commit treason by encouraging Russia to hack American computer files?
[Photo by Evan Vucci/AP Images]