I report. You decide.

[kelliekat44]

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.
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.

[ejbr]

1. Too bad

Fox entertainment will squeal enough to prevent this from happening. Then again, we dems prefer to "look forward".

[leftofcool]

2. Yes, unfortunately you have to read further into this to see that a couple of Senators

were never indicted for it. Neither was Jesse Jackson.

[steve2470]

3. what did Jesse Jackson do ? I'm forgetting, thanks nt

[anotojefiremnesuka]

4. Never before have some many violated the Logan Act at once

If memory serves Jesse Jackson was not an elected office at the time either.

47 sitting US Senators violating the law is a BFD.

[Hoppy]

5. Yeah, but Holder didn't have the balls to go after bankers and Bush war criminals.

After all, we gotta look forward.

[TexasProgresive]

6. The Logan Act is mostly unchanged but its constitutionality has never been tested

I think this would be a good case to test it except for the current court.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Act
There has been little judicial discussion of the constitutionality of the Logan Act.

In United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. (1936), however, Justice Sutherland wrote in the majority opinion: "[T]he President alone has the power to speak or listen as a representative of the nation. He makes treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate; but he alone negotiates. Into the field of negotiation the Senate cannot intrude, and Congress itself is powerless to invade it." Sutherland also notes in his opinion the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations report to the Senate of February 15, 1816:

The President is the constitutional representative of the United States with regard to foreign nations. He manages our concerns with foreign nations, and must necessarily be most competent to determine when, how, and upon what subjects negotiation may be urged with the greatest prospect of success. For his conduct, he is responsible to the Constitution.[12]