SwiftVets.com

[d19thdoc]

U.S. Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 45, Sec. 953 (the Logan Act) - Private correspondence with foreign governments:
"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, [emphasis added] shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply, himself or his agent, to any foreign government or the agents thereof for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.”


John Kerry, in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, April 22, 1971:
"I have been to Paris. I have talked with both delegations at the peace talks, that is to say the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government . . . "

[To him, "both sides" did not include the United States or its ally, the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)]

And . . .
"I realize that we cannot negotiate treaties and I realize that even my visits in Paris, precedents had been set by Senator McCarthy and others, in a sense are on the borderline of private individuals negotiating, et cetera. I understand these things."

Note: ". . . visits in Paris . . . " is plural.
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AND:

When questioned by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 22, 1971, about his suggestions for dealing with the Vietnam problem, Kerry's reply was a statement of Madame Binh's published points: immediate, unconditional and unilateral withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Vietnam, and the end to all support for the South Vietnamese government, our ally.

Kerry's campaign spokesman, when questioned about these facts, reacted with the information that Kerry had never negotiated with the enemy, and had never attended any negotiating sessions.

In order to negotiate, there has to be a difference of opinion.

The Paris Peace Talks were not open to the public, and they did not sell bleacher seats. The only way Kerry could have attended a session was as a member of an official delegation. Was Kerry's spokesman assuring us that Kerry had not been, in fact, Madame Binh's official Naval Aide, so, therefore, there is really nothing to this whole matter?

A similar case from very recent history might help put this kind of behavior into a better perspective than Kerry's campaign spokesman was able to provide . . .

U.S. soldier charged
in al-Qaida probe
National Guardsman accused
The Associated Press
Updated: 11:10 p.m. ET Feb. 18, 2004


"Spc. Ryan G. Anderson was formally charged Feb. 12 with three counts . . The charges could lead to a death sentence.

"The charges do not allege that Anderson ever actually passed information to real al-Qaida members.

"Anderson is also alleged to have communicated by “oral, written and electronic communication” to the supposed “terrorists” that “I wish to meet with you, I share your cause, I wish to continue contact through conversations and personal meetings.” [emphasis added]

"The Uniform Military Code says attempts to aid the enemy can be punished by death."

© 2004 The Associated Press.
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While Kerry was no longer on active duty (he was on inactive Naval Reserve) and may not have been subject to the UCMJ, he was subject to the Logan Act, 18 U.S.C. 953, and to the Constitutional provision against giving aid to the enemy, or "adhering to them." (Article III, Section 3). "Adhering" and "aid" seem to be terms exactly appropriate in this case.
_________________
For The Honor of the Fifty-Eight Thousand.
"He Can Lose, But He Can Not Hide"

[waltjones]

Thanks, Doc, for the very informative analysis. I wonder if the Statute of Limitations has expired? Although he may be technically off the hook for treason due to his Inactive Reserve status, he spoke with the enemy without government sanction and urged our Congress to unilaterally accept the enemy "peace" terms. To this Marine, he is a traitor!

Semper Fi!
_________________
Walt Jones (USMC, '65 - '69) It says much about the person who defends a man with no honor.

[d19thdoc]

WaltJones wrote:

[Cam Ranh '71]

I thought I was the only one who ever heard of this Act.
It's been on the books, I believe over 200 years, and has never been enforced. I think it applies to both civilians and military.
Note well, Hanoi Jane, more recently, possibly Sean Penn, even Jimmy Carter and "those types". We can't forget Jesse Jackson.
And hell, look what happened when we sent dear ole Madalyn Albright to Pyongyang to broker an arms agreement OFFICIALLY! They were laughing at her before she arrived back home. The rest is history.

The Logan Act is and has been a joke.
As an aside, the only thing I remember about the Paris peace talks, it took an inordinate amout of time and negotiations to decide who would be seated where around the table and next to whom and across from whom. A real circus.

[d19thdoc]

Cam Rahn,

Even though the Act has never been enforced, numerous attemps to repeal it have been rejected. So, in my mind, it stands as a statement of what the principle in such cases ought to be. Kerry's adviser at the time, Adam Walinsky, was a pretty sharp lawyer, and probably told him he could defy this with impunity, brag about his exploits without fear of prosecution, and make points with the left while sticking his thumb in Nixon's eye. All this is just more evidence of the total cynicism of what he was doing.

The Constitution remains a valid statement of the law in regard to such aid and adherence to war-time enemies.

Kerry's visits to Paris and the VC and North Vietnamese had nothing to do with the Peace Talks. That connection is a diversion that has deniablity for Kerry. ("He didn't 'negotiate,' really . . . ") It was simply where they were available to meet with him without complications such as our State Department could raise about a trip to Hanoi or Moscow or Havana.

The fact that the Peace Talks were mainly a propaganda circus for the enemy until near the end is just more evidence of how important the propaganda war was for them - and how important it was for them to have allies like Kerry in their U.S. psy-ops theater.

Doc
_________________
For The Honor of the Fifty-Eight Thousand.
"He Can Lose, But He Can Not Hide"