Donald Trump Seemingly Suggests Death Penalty For Adversaries Guilty Of ‘Treason’
During a press conference about the new aid package for farmers hurt by the trade war President Donald Trump has been waging with China, a reporter confronted the commander-in-chief over his past remarks about treason.
As Raw Story reports, a journalist present at the event pointed out that treason is punishable by death, prompting Trump to double down on the accusations.
“Sir, the Constitution says treason is punishable by death. You’ve accused your adversaries of treason. Who are you talking about?” the journalist asked.
Without objecting to the framing of the question, the president doubled down on the accusations, proceeding to mention by name those he apparently believes are guilty of treason. According to Trump, former FBI Director James Comey, former FBI officials Lisa Page, Peter Strozk, and Andrew McCabe are all guilty of treason, a crime punishable by death.
“Look at [James] Comey, [Andrew] McCabe, people higher than that. If you look at [Peter] Strozk, if you look at his lover, Lisa Page, his wonderful lover. They talked openly. They didn’t use their private server because they didn’t want to get caught. So they used the government server. That was not a good move.”
“They’re trying to take down the wrong person,” Trump said, echoing many of his previous statements.
The Mueller investigation and related events were, according to Trump, “insurance policy just in case crooked Hillary loses.”
“That didn’t work out well for them. So you look at them,” the president said, once again suggesting that the individuals he mentioned by name are indeed guilty of treason, and therefore deserve the death penalty.
While it may not be out of the ordinary for Donald Trump to accuse perceived opponents of treason, his most recent comments are guaranteed to cause a lot of controversy, given that this is the first time for the president to seemingly acknowledge that the crime he is accusing others of is punishable by death.
Trump accuses Comey, McCabe, Strzok, and Page of "treason" pic.twitter.com/G83hiPsUKY
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) May 23, 2019
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, even though the crime of treason is narrowly defined in the Constitution — aiding enemies with whom the United States is at war — Trump appears to have made a habit out of accusing his political opponents of the crime.
Last week, the president took to social media to accuse intelligence officials who he claims unlawfully spied on his campaign of treason, prompting widespread backlash and criticism. Liberal news outlets described the accusations as “reckless” and “authoritarian,” and former federal prosecutor Mimi Rocah said Trump’s threats and accusations “terrify” her.
#BREAKING: Trump suggests death penalty punishment for Comey, Page, Strozk and McCabe https://t.co/Uun7BjcW2n
— Raw Story (@RawStory) May 23, 2019
According to Rocah, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern district of New York, the fact that Attorney General William Barr appears to be in agreement with the president — like Trump, Barr has alleged unlawful spying — makes the statements terrifying.
