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OPINION

John Kerry Violated The Logan Act And Must Be Prosecuted, Here is Why

Former Secretary of State John Kerry has violated the Logan Act and should be prosecuted immediately after reports surfaced that show he is working with America’s enemies in an effort to undermine President Donald Trump and his administration.

Kerry, who is now a private citizen, went to New York City two weeks ago to meet with Iranian diplomats in secret in order to save the Iran nuclear deal which President Trump has threatened to cancel, The Boston Globe reported.

He spoke with Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif at the United Nations to discuss ways to save the deal. The two had met before to talk about ways to salvage the deal in the past two months.

The Iran deal was the crown jewel of Kerry’s time as Secretary of State and his desire to save it, from a personal standpoint, makes sense. But it is also illegal as it violates the 200-year-old Logan Act.

“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,” the Act reads.

There is no room for interpretation. Kerry is a private citizen and he has carried on correspondence with a foreign government with the intent of influencing the measures and conduct of a foreign government in relation to a dispute with the United States.

Keep in mind, the Democrats called for prosecuting President Trump for violating the Logan Act when he jokingly and publicly asked Russia to show Hillary Clinton’s 33,000 deleted emails if they had them.

And if the meeting with Iran was not enough, Kerry has also spoken with other foreign governments in his time as a private citizen, the Globe reported.

“Kerry also met last month with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and he’s been on the phone with top European Union official Federica Mogherini, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal the private meetings. Kerry has also met with French President Emmanuel Macron in both Paris and New York, conversing over the details of sanctions and regional nuclear threats in both French and English,” the Globe reported.

“It is unusual for a former secretary of state to engage in foreign policy like this, as an actual diplomat and quasi-negotiator,” Michael O’Hanlon, a foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution, told the Globe. “Of course, former secretaries of state often remain quite engaged with foreign leaders, as they should, but it’s rarely so issue-specific, especially when they have just left office.”

What Kerry has done is far beyond that. He is acting against the current administration in charge of running the United States government in order to effect policy. It is a blatant violation of the Act, which has never been used to prosecute anyone in its 200 years. But if there ever was a time to use it, this is that time.

Carmine Sabia

Carmine began writing for BizPacReview in 2014 where he found success as a conservative writer. His popularity continued to soar as he gained tens of thousands of followers. ​Carmine has been quoted by Fox News, has been interviewed on television by Tomi Lahren, appeared on BBC Radio, "The Critical Hour" with Dr. Wilmer Leon, Sky News in the UK, NHK in Japan, Power 98.7 South Africa and various other media outlets.

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  1. Johnny Tremain May 5, 2018

    Textbook case of Logan Act violation. Kerry is conspiring against the USA by holding unauthorized talks with a Iran a state sponsor of terrorism. Obama and the both Clinton’s are also flying around the world holding authorized talks regarding US policy matters with heads of state.

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  2. Joseph Mangano May 5, 2018

    One has to wonder if John Kerry understands this and is willing to accept the consequences, or just doesn’t care. I’m not here to debate the legal language of the Logan Act, but I’m wondering why he is choosing to act in this way. If it’s simply to protect his legacy as Secretary of State, I don’t support his actions. If he’s doing this because he believes the Iran deal is worth saving and is of singular importance, however, I’m more sympathetic. Critics and figures here and abroad, and on the left and right, have been urging Trump to preserve this deal, and I think Trump’s characterizations of the deal and Iran’s actions have been misleading, if not patently false. It may not be perfect, but Iran seems to be abiding by the terms of the agreement. That’s nothing at which to scoff.

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