A Call For Hearings Into Senator Barack Obama's Violation Of The Logan Act,Write a Letter to Congress

WHILE campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence.

According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.

"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview.

Obama assumed authority not conveyed to him by the American public, and directly attempted to subvert the efforts of the current US Administration. He violated the Logan Act. The Act states:

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.

NOTE: Violation of the Logan Act is a criminal offense, a felony. The NY Post continues:

Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its “state of weakness and political confusion.

Numerous newspapers and forums,blogs etc. are talking about this and about his audacity.Hope this one sinks his ship.

Thanks Patti,
Done.

How about a link to the two sources you quote, so others can evaluate the seriousness of this?

Hello?

google obama logan act,comes up with 88,000. I looked through the first 5 pages and some of the quotes come from those,most have the same quotes and a lot more information and of course peoples opinions.

But what about the original articles? Are you saying you're trying to lead this effort here, and you've never read the original articles?

Priceless.

Well, I tracked down the original from the Post, and it's by a guy named Amir Taheri, that even the New Republic notes has been involved in dubious reporting previously. Jebari is a Kurd, it turns out, that fears Obama, because he needs permanent US protection for his people and Kurdish rebels, from Turkey. Off to find the other.

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=11777523-4E9C-4FBF-97D7-B98DFE4C6E83

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=78602FB7-8047-4E7C-9C15-2C623F998B3C

http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/pol/846623068.html

Here, Ron. Try these.

Is the new York Post not as reliable as The Huffington Post?

This dead letter was named after Joshua Logan, a Republican Quaker who negotiated the release of American seamen captured by the French. John Adams got this law passed for political reasons, having also gotten the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts of 1799 passed as well. They are the spiritual forebears of the Patriot Act and were bitterly regretted by Adams later.

"The language of the act appears to encompass almost every communication between a U.S. citizen and a foreign government considered an attempt to influence negotiations between their two countries. Because the language is so broad in scope, legal scholars and judges have suggested that the Logan Act is unconstitutional. Historically, the act has been used more as a threat to those engaged in various political activities than as a weapon for prosecution. In fact, Logan Act violations have been discussed in almost every administration without any serious attempt at enforcement, and to date there have been no convictions and only one recorded indictment.

"One example of the act's use as a threat of prosecution involved the Reverend JESSE JACKSON. In 1984 Jackson took well-publicized trips to Cuba and Nicaragua and returned with several Cuban political prisoners seeking ASYLUM in the United States. President RONALD REAGAN stated that Jackson's activities may have violated the law, but Jackson was not pursued beyond a threat.

"The only Logan Act indictment occurred in 1803. It involved a Kentucky newspaper article that argued for the formation in the western United States of a separate nation allied to France. No prosecution followed."
http://law.jrank.org/pages/8357/Logan-Act.html

I think that, rather than trying to "sink his boat" via this anachronism, Republicans will once again have to resort to massive voter disenfranchisement (as they are trying to do right now in Wisconsin and Michigan, e.g.) to make sure they win this one.

I found the transcript of the MSNBC incident, and it doesn't support this story. As Bill notes, you've got about as much chance of making this one stick, as McCain does of remembering how many houses he owns.

Ivan,
You tell me, the New Republic, writing about this, implied that Tehari had been unreliable in the past. Those are your guys, I think.

"If memory serves, Taheri hasn't always panned out" - New Republic

I imagine that's a nice way of saying he's lied and spread false rumors before......

200 more letters sent since I posted this.I am sure not all from here.Hope thousands more sign and send to their senators and reps.

Jesse Jackson did this too? Ah, now that makes sense. Bravo, Patti, for pointing this out. He already thought he was president with that seal of his. This man is as arrogant as they come. I have no doubt in my mind he is guilty as charged. He is very audacious indeed.

McCain - we need you - now, more than ever. Keep this socialist man out of our White House. No telling what will happen if he gets in. What other audacious things might he get in his mind?

Obama, sorry to tell you, is about as mainstream as they come. And if you read the entire thread you will note that this Logan Act canard is as silly as they come. I don't think the present crop of Americans has a clue about what a "socialist" is.

pathetic.

Patti W.,

Thanks for the additional info....I read and heard about this news story from several different sources. Do you know anything about this American Sentinel group? I am wondering if they are a 527 (?) hiding in the bushes trying to "swift-boat" yet another Democratic Candidate. This is not an accusation ~ Just a question?

Thanks also to the guys who are attempting to dig beneath the sound bites. This is the only way the truth will come out. I am not ready to believe one iota of the slime that gets put out on either of these Candidates. If I had a dime for every slimey, slanderous, and scathing e-mails and e-chains I receive about these Candidates, I COULD PERSONNALY BAIL OUT FANNIE AND FREDDIE MYSELF!

Here are a few more of the more salient topics: the Keating 5 ala Wikipeadia; Cindy McCain's drug problem and cover-up; pictures of partially birthed babies; Obama's secret handshake with the Weathermen......

When can we get back to the issues?

Please understand! I'm not putting you down, Patti W. If there was an attempt to manipulate the troop pull-out, that is very serious because the U.S. negotiations w/ Iraq are stalled.

I still believe that Wm. Casey negotiated w/ the Iranians for the release of the hostages to coincide with Reagan's inaguration. If you want the truth these days, you have to dig for it. Sad.

The investigations of Palin are already underway.

Andrea-
Define socialist.
Define socialism.

What do you call it when the government is purchasing the private sector for pennies on the dollar with taxpayer bucks?

After all this time you think Obama will do anything inappropriate? He knows the law and would never do something like that.
You need to look at your candidate stupidity and record to realize how ignorant he really is...
We are past the socialism with the bailout...we are crawling now with fascism..the proper regime with no manifesto, yet above the law, undemocratic, machiavellic etc....etc..

They definetely act like fascist both in attitude and attacks.

Patti-
Lots of luck with the witch hunt. But could you tell us where you got this site address and just who americansentinel is? When I went to the link my computer warned me that an application was attempting to download.

Here's some petitions to sign

http://www.firethelobbyists.com/
http://therealmccain.com/pac/

Patti, you are spreading false information. Does that make you feel good about yourself?

You can send a billion letters, but since there is no truth to this charge, it will amount to nothing. A good use of your time for McCain supporters. Again, this is entirely based on the word of Taheri, about which this is said by the New Republic:

"If memory serves, Taheri hasn't always panned out" - New Republic

No false information Sandy.I didnt write the petition.Around 5000 have sent letters to their Senators and reps so far.It is all over the internet.Many papers are carrying the story.
I think Obama would do anything he thought he could get away with to get elected lea.

Thanks to reporting from Amir Taheri, the gist of which the Obama campaign has confirmed, we now know that while Obama is telling the American people he wants an end to the war, he has secretly negotiated with the government in Iraq to extend the U.S. military mission there. That is a black-and-white violation of federal criminal law.

Very simply, in our system the president is responsible for conducting foreign policy. President Bush is thus negotiating with the Iraqi government for a “status of forces” agreement that would clarify the rights and responsibilities of U.S. forces in Iraq after the current U.N. mandate expires at the end of this year.

Yet, during Obama’s heralded trip to Baghdad in July, he asked Iraqi leaders to ignore Bush and delay resolving the legal status of our forces until next year — by which time the Senator hopes no longer to need a phony presidential seal.

Under the “Logan Act” (now codified at Section 953 of the federal penal code) it has been against the law since the late 18th century for U.S. citizens to carry on “intercourse with any foreign government” that is aimed either “to defeat the measures of the United States” or to influence the foreign government’s dealings with the United States. Being a senator is no immunity from this statute — as any Republican senator would find out in a hurry if he dared to pull a stunt like this during an Obama administration.

Naturally, the Waxmans, Conyers, Leahys, law-professor legions, and Democrats everywhere who’ve harangued us for eight years about “the rule of law” have fallen silent.
by Andrew McCarthy,National Review

Move America Forward recently formed a political-action committee to hit Barack Obama on military issues, and had an explosive charge handed to it by Amir Taheri’s New York Post column on Monday. Taheri quoted Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari in accusing Obama of attempting to block the negotiations between the US and Iraq on a status-of-forces agreement (SOFA), which Obama’s campaign verified in its response yesterday. MAFPAC has its first issue, and its first ad will hit the airwaves this week:
The problem with what Obama did is twofold. First, Senator Obama has no authority to negotiate on behalf of the executive branch, which has sole authority to conduct foreign policy. Second and most important, Obama attempted to interfere against the interests of the United States. He can ask all the questions he wants, but when Obama started pressing Iraqi officials to stop negotiations with the executive branch — in other words, break one level of diplomatic contact and freeze a military alliance in time of war — that crossed a line and clearly violated the Logan Act. It also makes clear that Obama would do anything to get elected, even harm diplomatic relations between the US and an ally.

Obama’s request for a delay (of withdrawal) was a major theme of his talks with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said in an interview with the New York Post. Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its “state of weakness and political confusion.” (In other words, he was saying “I’m in charge now”). Obama also tried to persuade the U.S. commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, to offer a “realistic withdrawal date,” the Post reported. The commanders declined, the newspaper said.

Obama has acted for months as if he is already the Commander in Chief. Under the Logan Act; he committed a felony.

If you want to prosecute those who have fallen afoul of this 18th Century, sweeping act, Obama would be at the tail end of a very, very long line that would include every pol who has ever talked to a foreign rep. about anything, let alone "negotiated." To say Obama was "negotiating" is a huge stretch. Good grief...why are we wasting so much time on this non-issue when this Administration is breaking serious laws left and right, skirting the Constitution, and generally wrecking what's left of our poor country? Let's get serious for a change.

Im serious.Im for anything legal to get rid of Obama before the election.Maybe we would get a better choice on the dem side.Im voting for Mccain.Not because I think he is the greatest,but he has more experience than Obama.

Wake up and smell the coffee, this, brought to you by the Republicans, is what is happening:

(excerpt is from the Washington Post)

"Glued to his chair in front of two Mac computer screens, chain-smoking Camel Lights, Kenney [age 58] watched, wide-eyed, as over the course five business days one-third of the value of his retirement savings simply vanished.

He hasn't slept well since."

This article stinks of republican slight of hand. I think it is funny the righties are so worried about issues like these after the treasonous 8 years of G.W. and Dick. You would not vote democratic regardless of who was the candidate. Its B.S Patti.

Patti-"I'm for anything legal to get rid of Obama before the election.Maybe we would get a better choice on the dem side"

The dem side? What do you care about the dem side? It's obvious you don't give two hoots and a hollar about issues that democrats care about. I frankly don't understand why anyone would claim to be a Hillary supporter and then turn around and vote for the people who are against all that she stands for, worked for and cared about. Did you pay any attention to what has happened to your country this week? Good grief. It's not a popularity contest.
Hillary is voting for Obama.

Patti- Many papers are carrying the story.

Then why did you choose to cut and paste comments without attribute from ridiculous sources like this silly racist wordpress blog?
The Obami.comBlog

Never been to that blog.Also have never voted republican before this election.Nor has my husband,family and many friends who are all voting republican for the first time.
Mccain s not Bush.Mccain differs on many of Bush's policies.He will work across the aisles,Obama is partisan all the way.

Patti-"Never been to that blog"

Then can you explain why your comment above that begins
"Obama’s request for a delay (of withdrawal) was a major theme of his talks with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said in an interview with the New York Post"
is in it's entirety a word for word match from that blog? When I put your entire comment in quotes and enter it in google, the only match is the Obami blog.

I discovered that when attempting to find what "newspapers" you were quoting from. When I cut and paste I cite the source.

Patti W. - that's sad news but not surprising considering the type of man he is. I'll forward this to the other groups I belong to. Move America Forward is a great group, too.

It fits too since it was three democrat senators who screwed up our Iraqi oil deal. Iraq is selling to China because of these three rubes, one of them is John Kerry.

Complete idiocy

I thought so too Ron. Maybe that's the "change" Obama was talking about. Changing the withdrawal from Iraq from when its necessary to when it is convenient for him.