Scott Allan’s World

I have been wondering for several days now how Nancy Pelosi can be allowed to undermine the foreign policy of the United States as set by the President. It is a clear violation of the Constitution’s separation of powers. If citizens do not like the President’s foreign policy, they have an opportunity every fours years to elect someone else. Her actions just appear blatantly seditious. According to an article in today’s WSJ, Nancy Pelosi may have committed a felony by violating the Logan Act. From Answers.com:

Congress established the Logan Act in 1799, less than one year after passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which authorized the arrest and deportation of aliens and prohibited written communication defamatory to the U.S. government. The 1799 act was named after Dr. George Logan. A prominent Republican and Quaker from Pennsylvania, Logan did not draft or introduce the legislation that bears his name, but was involved in the political climate that precipitated it.

In the late 1790s, a French trade embargo and jailing of U.S. seamen created animosity and unstable conditions between the United States and France. Logan sailed to France in the hope of presenting options to its government to improve relations with the United States and quell the growing anti-French sentiment in the United States. France responded by lifting the embargo and releasing the captives. Logan’s return to the United States was marked by Republican praise and Federalist scorn. To prevent U.S. citizens from interfering with negotiations between the United States and foreign governments in the future, the Adams administration quickly introduced the bill that would become the Logan Act.

The Logan Act has remained almost unchanged and unused since its passage. The act is short and reads as follows:

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

Sadly, President Bush has not shown the fortitude to defend Executive powers from Congressional abuse. He should have Pelosi arrested when she returns to the country.

Technorati Tags Nancy Pelosi, Syria, treason