Individual Liberty — Individual Responsibility 

Barack Obama is a felon!

I said it a year and a half ago about Nancy Pelosi. Now I'll say it about Barack Obama. He's a felon. He's another one of those people outside the Executive branch that's gone and negotiated with a foreign government, without permission, and counter to the policies and interests of the chief executive. In other words, he's violated the Logan Act.

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 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."

"However, as an Iraqi, I prefer to have a security agreement that regulates the activities of foreign troops, rather than keeping the matter open." Zebari says.

Since when should Congress be involved in diplomatic negotiations? That's not one of the powers granted to Congress in the Constitution. It's an Executive power. In fact, Congress passed a law many decades ago explicitly prohibiting anyone from negotiating without authorization. It's called the Logan Act.

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 45

§ 953. 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, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

Violation of this act is a felony. The current administration is actively engaged in negotiations with the Iraqis, and Barack Obama has insisted that Congress should be involved in the negotiations (a power reserved to the Executive branch) and that the Iraqi government should not come to an agreement with the current administration.

Of course, we'll never see Barack Obama prosecuted, or even charged under this act. Congress, run by Senator Obama's party would never turn on one of their own. The media, in the tank for Obama for the last 19 months would never turn on him.

But we should. There IS a way to make him pay for his audacity though. Defeat his campaign to be elected President.

Don't vote for the felon!