John Kerry - How Little Some People Know....

Liberal Democrats nationwide are calling for the 47 Republican Senators who sent a letter to the mullahs in Iran last week to be charged with treason under the Logan Act,  (1 Stat. 613, 18 U.S.C. § 953) enacted in 1799. The Act specifically prohibits unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments having a dispute with the U.S.

It's truly sad to realize how many people don't understand U.S. law and don't understand how our three branches of government work. If they did they wouldn't be calling for charges against the Republican Senators but instead they would be demanding that President Obama actually follow the Constitution when negotiating the equivalent of a treaty with a foreign power.

Of course, the Obama administration denies that the "deal" is a treaty, saying instead that it's a "political agreement" between nations.

The definition of "treaty" is as follows: a formally concluded and ratified agreement between countries. So in reality, the only difference between Obama's "political agreement" and a treaty is that the President is not going to allow the Senate to ratify it. By U.S. law, in order for it to be binding for the U.S. government it must be ratified by the Senate. President Obama's failure to seek such ratification means he is attempting to circumvent the Constitution.

Secretary of State John Kerry's reaction to the letter was interesting.

“During my 29 years in the Senate I never heard of, or even heard of it being proposed, anything comparable to this. This letter ignores more than two centuries of precedent in the conduct of American foreign policy,” Kerry said.

The reason I find it so interesting is that in 1985, when Kerry was a junior Senator from Massachusetts, he himself traveled to Nicaragua, without Presidential authorization, to negotiate a deal with dictator Daniel Ortega during the Sandinista conflict. Kerry returned saying that he had struck a deal with Ortega that President Reagan should listen to.

“The Sandinista government would agree to a cease-fire and restore civil liberties if the US government ceased its support of the Contras,” Kerry said upon his return. “If the United States is serious about peace, this is a great opportunity.”

But Kerry had no authority whatsoever to go down and deal with the Sandinistan leader. If the 47 Senators who wrote a letter violated the Logan Act by doing so then Kerry shattered it in 1985. Yet those clamoring for charges of treason don't seem to want to remember that little action by Kerry. Go figure.

SOS Kerry also has said that the deal with Iran is "not legally binding." So does that mean the Republican letter to the mullahs was, in fact, correct? Geez, John - don't you just hate it when someone puts out the truth when you really don't want it known?

President Obama weighed in on the letter. "I'm embarrassed for them," speaking of the 47 Republican Senators. "For them to address a letter to the Ayatollah, who they claim is our mortal enemy, and their basic argument to them is, 'Don't deal with our president because you can't trust him to follow through on an agreement,' that's close to unprecedented," Obama said in an interview.

Really, Mr. President? You're embarrassed for them? Or is it that you're embarrassed yourself because the Republicans told the Iranian leaders the truth? If he's so embarrassed by what they did and so sure of what he's doing why is he taking his "deal" with Iran to the United Nations instead of to the Senate? Seems to me if what he was doing was right he would want the blessing of the elected officials in Washington. Hmmmm

One thing about President Obama - he has proved that he will do whatever he chooses, legal or not, until someone stops him. It may take court action or it may take military action but sooner or later people are going to get fed up with his lawlessness and make it stop. I just hope it's not too late when that happens.