The unprecedented effort by Senate Republicans to sabotage ongoing US-Iran relations with a letter earlier this week, in which they openly warned Iran of their intentions to dishonor any agreements President Obama made, was a lighthearted jest, according to Republican aides.
“The administration has no sense of humor,” one aide complained, after reports that the letter was likely a felony offense, and could amount to treason.
Republican non-signatories to the letter are now saying it was a “bad idea,” while the signatories are trying to reframe it as a goof, apparently done as some sort of weird form of performance art.
Secretary of State John Kerry today reiterated that despite the letter, Congress doesn’t have a constitutional right to change diplomatic agreements that have already been signed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to be trying to claim credit for the letter, by contrast, suggesting his recent Congressional speech fueled the letter in defiance of diplomacy he opposes.
“How We Know AIPAC Wrote Iran Treason Letter"
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"How We Know AIPAC [Israeli Lobby] Wrote The GOP’s 'Treason' Letter To Iran"
by MJ Goldberg —-> former AIPAC staffer!
http://mjrosenberg.net/2015/03/09/how-we-know-aip…
A light hearted jest?! Are these people trying to insult our intelligence? "Tehran Tom" tweeted it to the Iranian leadership and bragged about it! Since when did the Iranian recipients become such close friends that you can tweet jokes to them? They even translated that letter into Farsi before sending it! Some joke!
The truth is that this AIPAC led adventure is backfiring badly for the 47 traitors. Now they are trying to back pedal – but it is too late for that. The whole country is outraged. A petition to the Whitehouse to file charges against the 47 treasonous senators has already had over 200,000 signatures in just two days, when all it needed was 100,000 signatures by April 8!
My biggest disappointment is in Rand Paul for having signed this atrocity. I have been a Ron Paul supporter forever. There is no chance that I am voting for Rand Paul. I just saw a post where he is now trying to do nation building for the Kurds! What an abrupt turnabout for this supposedly anti-interventionist!
Can we please free our country from this Israeli yoke around our necks? Our congress is Israeli occupied territory and those that represent us are putting the interests of a foreign nation above those of ours. Money and blackmail are in play here.
It might well be the time when such outrage produces some positive results. Maybe you could apply a system of recall, such as we have here in my country, where we can vote to actually remove a politician from office. Such a measure would allow you to remove tools and buffoons from your Congress. While people like Mc Cain (Goldwater must turn in his grave every time this one opens his mouth) perpetuate themselves in power, foreign agents will dominate your Congress. If for no other reason, consider the spectacle such ¨lighthearted jokes¨ have on the international audience. Apparently, your politicians play to the gallery and not to your own people. Talk of a Fifth Column!
I've come to the conclusion that Rand 'aqua buddha' Paul is squirrely.
Now is the chance to clear out the stables and AIPAC
What a disappointment for the old man!
And I cannot help but think that is the reason for the Ron Paul Institute's silence on this issue.
LIGHTHEADED
I suppose now the American public is expected to believe that all 47 signatories 'mis-spoke'. I have a sneaky feeling they're going to pay dearly- one way or another- for their 'light-hearted jest'; the one good thing is that it may give them pause next time they listen to AIPAC.
They will not be listening to AIPAC their butts will be out.
Was the lighhearted letter the reason for Secretary of State John Kerry laughing so hard in front of the senators today? Well not really, In fact Mr Secretary was mad as hell but he was sitting too far and couldn't ring someone's neck as much as he wanted too!
Hahaha! We're all going to die laughing.
Damn Republican clowns.
LOL
These 47 idiots who signed the letter are backtracking as fast as they can. For any of them to say it was "lighthearted" just compounds their problem, like saying "I didn't have sex with that woman." And, as far as terrible judgment, you have 46 other senators, many with decades of "valuable experience," (so they'll tell you), signing a traitorous letter drafted by a freshman dispensationalist (Cotton), and saying it was all in fun, lighten up. McCain said he just glanced at it before signing. At least there was uber hawk Sen. Corker who had the intelligence not to sign. Rand should have listened to him. All who signed that piece of crap should be bowing down to their constituents begging for forgiveness.
Fired "BUB"
Two police shot in Ferguson — A nation gone war crazy
During a small protest of 70 people at the police station in Ferguson, two officers were Shot. So what happened next?
Well, the first reaction of the police was not to protect the protesters, for all officers grabbed a loaded gun and pointed them point-blank at the people. Then 26 squad cars came charging to the scene and with more officers then protesters, completely encircled were the protesters.
And all because the upper half of society has to hoard all the wealth. Absolutely has to, as greed commands it.
What does that have to do with the issue at hand?
John, you are absolutely correct! War mentality will come home because people live by examples! It's very sad!
Does anyone require further proof that the people we are electing are not qualified to hold the positions? This is all a joke for them but the people out in the country are not laughing. It's obvious that these idiots are not taking their jobs seriously. This is not a game, you friggin' morons. This is not some juvenile frat house stunt. Maybe their constituents should treat them the way Oklahoma University is handling their little racist problem. Close down the Republican party and send them home – they're not qualified to represent Americans. Hell, just send them all to Tel Aviv…bibi can use them on his re-election campaign.
The US is already a one party state, so might as well make it official.
And, by extension, does anyone require further proof that the people voting for these ignoramuses are not qualified to vote.
Trickle down will never work for anything. Bottom up is the way to go.
He does not want them anymore they have outlived their usefulness.
nothing says "hilarious" like a formal and vaguely threatening letter to a head of state. next they will say same thing about the iraq invasion….we were just messin' around. sorry about your country dudes. the laughs with the neocons are non-stop….grimly illustrated in their wacky and zany foreign policy. keep the laughs coming boys…
“The administration has no sense of humor,” one aide complained…
These political whores in Congress are disgusting. I see no (humor)
whatsoever in idiot Repugs (jesting) with the lives of uncounted
thousands of human beings in a potential military conflict with Iran.
It's time to flush this garbage in Congress down the latrine (toilet).
You can bet AIPAC has a sense of humor. There're laughing their asses off at how stupid their subjects really are.
The definition of treason that applies in the US is to be found in the constitution, and it requires adherence to the cause of an enemy.
"Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason"
Clearly, that does not describe the letter of the 47. It does describe a violation of the Logan Act. Red state governors probably would appoint replacements for the prison-bound miscreants; otherwise I would be happy to see them chained and shuffling in disgrace,
I know most people think the word treason is being used carelessly, but I think it is exactly what this is. The only problem is that it is so common no one sees it for what it is anymore. When a person takes an office, they take on a constitutional, legal authority to serve the American people in the capacity of that office. If they use that office against the people, taking money to serve a monied interest or a foreign interest, they are waging war against the people they supposedly serve.
It is the worst crime. Maybe people should be charged with the Logan Act or the laws against fraud of office or dishonest services, or whatever legalese would be appropriate, but the fact remains that using office to blatantly serve Netanyahu meets this simple dictionary definition of treason:
1. [Now Rare] betrayal of trust or faith; treachery 2. violation of the allegiance owed to one's sovereign or state; betrayal of one's country, spec.,in the US (Constitution) consisting only in levying war against the US or giving aid and comfort to its enemies.
We have powerful international interests trying to drag us into world war on behalf of… who? The American people? Has anyone made a coherent argument about how our military and our government serve our people by committing us to more war? No, they stand up and say how it will serve Israel. "Our" congress is adhering to Netanyahu, and yes he is our enemy when he usurps our power. This is an abuse of their office that has gone unchallenged for too long.
Most if not all americans were asleep when the Zionist took over "DARNEL AND NO WHEAT AM I"
Unfortunately, The 47 can't be charged with treason as defined by the dictionary- they would have to be charged under 18 US Code 2381, which can only be construed as pertaining to an 'enemy' we are at war with- and lacking a Congressional Declaration of War (an AUMF doesn't cut it) we are not legally at war with Iran and therefore they are not an 'enemy'.
On the other hand, I am fully behind The 47 being charged under the Logan Act of 1799- their actions certainly rise to a violation in that respect.
I concede that yours is the accepted point of view. But Code 2381 says:
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
It doesn't apply to Iran or Netanyahu. And it makes no sense to say our enemies are limited to those we so designate. Suppose that insiders within the military had carried out an attack like 9-11. Would they not have levied war on us and be guilty of treason?
I can't expect the 47 to "suffer death" or even be imprisoned for 5 years, but they should be "incapable of holding any office under the United States" as they abused their office, the one in which they owed their allegiance to us.
No, I did not mean to imply our law applies to Netanyahu or Iran; only that The 47 are subject to it and it does not apply in this case.
Interesting scenario you posed, though- I suppose if the group simply gathered and attacked it would be nothing more than a 'simple' act of domestic terrorism. On the other hand, if another nation is at war with us and they join the enemy forces- without giving up their American citizenship- then, yes their acts would rise to the standard of treason. If, on the other hand, they renounce their citizenship and desert their military posts (necessarily this would have to be done in advance of their 'adhering to the enemy') and join an enemy then they would no longer 'owe allegiance to the United States' and could not be charged with treason.
Of course, I am no lawyer or constitutional scholar, but the above seems to be an objective assessment of the situation you described. The devil is in the details, as always, and I have no doubt some slick lawyer would be able to punch holes in my comment all day long 😀
(An afterthought: can an individual 'declare war' on a state? If so, and that person is captured, is he entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions- or is he destined to be nothing more than an 'enemy combatant' without rights?)
Unfortunately, the oath of office the Senators take doesn't include "serve the American people" – here's the oath they take:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
They do serve the American people. The Constitution defines the means but not the end. And the oath supports my contention that enemies, foreign and domestic, are not limited to proved adherents to foreign powers that we have declared war on.
Twofer here: Caesar, I'm not coming from a legal perspective but a philosophical one. Our government was intended to let people rule themselves. We all have to agree to live under its rule of law. People who refuse the rule of law are called criminals. But, in my booklet, people who take our tax money and use the institutions meant to serve us as tools against us, continue to live in a state of war against us. It's a philosophical definition of waging war.
I also think Cotton may be guilty of accepting bribes, even though current legal thought seems to think that a million dollars to sell out your constituents is just free speech.
Thanks for the conversation. I don't think I am in disagreement with either of you. I do want to push the envelope so that the same old doesn't continue.
Hey Jason,
Have you checked out the story that Senator Cotton got over 960,000.00 dollars from a pro Israel lobby that Kristol runs 5 months prior to this letter? The money went into his Senate Campaign Fund.
March 3rd,2015 The DAY of SHAME
On this day the republicans brought an outsider into AMERICA'S HOUSE to fight their FAMILY fight for them . Boehner brought a foreigner into AMERICA'S HOUSE to argue a FAMILY dispute. Those were not "standing ovations" …. they were yellow-bellied-groveling In front of the entire World the republican party groveled to an alien politician, in their desperate, failed, attempt to publicly shame the President of the United States. The republicans SHAMED America and destroyed what patheticly tiny scrap of honor congress had left. Only filthy cowards drag outsiders into a FAMILY arguement. Johnny Boehner could not even find enough testosterone to wait until after that disgrace, before he folded on his limp-wristed "stand" against ILLEGALs . Boehner folded on ILLEGALS as he was bringing in a FOREIGNER to fight his battles for him ….. The World is laughing in derision …… at republicans, not the PRESIDENT
The last time we saw such fawning and continuous applause over a leader was back in the 30's, and everyone in the hall was wearing a brown shirt and speaking German. We saw how that worked out for the world. The more things change, the more they stay the same, huh?
It doesn't appear that Netanyahu's visit was a waste after all — at least not on Republican war mongers in the Senate.
Well, true, and it did give the public something to talk about other than whether or not they approve of Kim Kardashian going blonde. But, once this flap dies down it will be back to the usual bread and circuses to keep the plebs pacified.
Does anyone here wonder why the Ron Paul Institute, which normally covers foreign policy issues in the same manner as antiwar.com, is eerily silent on the letter of 47? I cannot help but think the fact that Ron's son, Rand, signed the letter is at least partly to blame. It kinda makes me lose respect for the RPI.
I don't know how much Ron Paul has to do with the Ron Paul Institute, except for lending them his name. I can't help but imagine that the old man must be beside himself with nausea at the spineless behavior of his progeny. Rand doesn't have one tenth of Ron's personal integrity.
I can't help but think that the real purpose for the Iran letter was to lay a trap for Rand Paul by flushing him out with a Catch 22 dilemma. The letter has exposed Rand as being nothing like his father, has cost him the support of his father's base, and of course he never was going to get Neocon support for his candidacy as he had hoped. Rand's excuse for signing the letter isn't flying. This was the true purpose and effect of the letter written right on the heels of the CPAC win for Rand. It knocked out Ron Paul's son as a potential presidential candidate. The Neocons are elated with their success.
Shouldn't that be "lightheaded"?
Aren't empty heads by definition "light?"
Perhaps Ed Snowden can use the "it was just a joke" defense if he's ever able to return to the US.
Same for Chelsea Manning. Use that as grounds for appeal. "Can't you clowns take a joke?"
"Logan Act? What Logan Act? We're just goofing…"
Dubya used that reasoning when he released that video of him running around the Oval Office looking for those pesky WMD, laughing as he went…but in his case, he was the joke.