Has Pelosi Violated the Logan Act? Is There a BIG Payoff?

The right side of the blogosphere is asking the first question, and I’m asking the second.

For the Logan Act to apply depends on whether or not Pelosi can be construed as a “private citizen.” No doubt she would claim she is a “public servant.” Whatever.

In either case, she is the reincarnation of Machiavelli.

This law, passed in the beginnings of our country’s history, was crafted to prevent unauthorized correspondence or negotiations 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.

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.

So is Representative Pelosi, a congressperson-survivor of bizarre San Francisco politics, and a vocal opponent and sly undercutter of her President’s policies re the Middle East…is she a private citizen/meddler or not?

The Hon. Pelosi is the head dude in the American Congress. Does that stamp her traveling shoes with the right credentials to bop over to Syria and make nice? Or is it simply another example of Democratic interference and Congressional hubristic imperialism?

Some in the MSM are taking her to task for visiting this hellhole, where Boy Assad hatches his various plots:

…the best that can be said about Pelosi’s trip: Nuts. Having done her shopping, Pelosi went on, against the express wishes of the White House, to talk with President Bashar Assad. Perched on pillowed armchairs, chatting away, they provided yet another photo-op — a tableau implying that Assad is no monster, but in many ways a reasonable fellow, just like the rest of us. Pelosi emerged to announce that she had expressed her concerns on various fronts and that Assad is now willing to hold peace talks with Israel.

This is not just nutty politics; it is dangerous. For Pelosi, this may count as interaction. But for Assad’s regime in Syria, this amounts to chumps on pilgrimage. Damascus is infested by a dynastic tyranny in which “dialogue” serves chiefly as cover for duplicity and terror. These traits are not simply regrettable habits that Assad might be charmed out of. They are big business and prime instruments of power.

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The long litany of Syrian depredations includes the long and brutal occupation of Lebanon, Syrian involvement in the brazen car-bombing assassination two years ago of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al- Hariri, and likely Syrian involvement in the continuing series of murders of Lebanese reformers. Syria has been a highway for Hezbollah terrorists trucking weapons from Iran into Lebanon, leading to the war launched by Hezbollah last summer against Israel. Syria provides safety and support for the terrorists of Hamas. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Syria has become a conduit of terrorists inflicting mayhem and murder in Iraq.

This kind of “thumb-in-your-eye” behavior (aimed at the President’s orbs) is standard operating procedure for Democrats. They’re the party which wrote the playbook for dirty politics, and use it so aggressively they make the Republicans look spineless by comparison. In the face of the machinations of Teddy Kennedy, Hillary, et al, the Republicans seldom get off the bench.

On the other hand, the Republicans’ feckless behavior the last time around brought about the defeat they deserved. Despite what the MSM and the Dems say, Congressional and Senatorial elections are idiosyncratic to each district and each state. These by-elections are not about the Executive Office, no matter what the chattering classes say when the election results go their way. They are about local concerns and what citizens think these people can do for their state or district. This is especially true in the House

Pelosi is fascinating. She may eventually give Hillary a run for her money, even as she meddles in the Middle East with one face while proclaiming she’s a simple grandmamma with the other. In fact, with this finesse to Syria, she may have pulled off an act that others will find difficult to follow without seeming to be mere “me, too.” The only upping of the ante I can foresee would be Kerry going to Iran.

By the way, if Pelosi says that she has the right to make this little visit due to her standing as third person in line for the Presidency, then she ought to stop returning the emails from people outside her district. I would say “you can’t have it both ways” but the Dems have been doing exactly that since they took genuine liberalism into the back room and embalmed it. No matter what they say, their form of “liberal” won’t pass the smell test.

Hey, that’s what we need: a third party called “Classic Liberals.” Kind of like bringing back Classic Coke, you know? It could provide for the libertarians, the homeless conservatives, and those who say “a-pox-on-both-your-houses” an actual domicile. A place to hang their hat without having to surrender their brains.

Dream on, Dymphna.



I will have to say that since Madam Speaker is not a private citizen, she probably did not violate the terms of the Logan Act. However, she went to Syria without the consent or blessings of her President. Lady, thy name is Chutzpah.

But that doesn’t mean the Republicans would pursue this flagrant act if some government legal beagle could make a case for her having violated the Logan Act. They’re way too engrossed in watching the Dems heat up the impeachment pot for the President and Vice President. And pulling that trick off would leave exactly who in charge?

So maybe soon-to-be Prez Pelosi is even craftier than we could have imagined. Is Syria merely the cocktail party prior to the impeachment barbeque?

Just asking.