CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS FLIRT WITH TREASON

Congressional Republicans are flirting, en masse, with the crime of treason, as defined by 18 U.S.C. §2381.e

§ 2381. Treason
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.

"Adhering to the enemy" was put into historical perspective by Associate Justice Jackson in the landmark case Cramer v. United States.  "Treason of adherence to an enemy was old in the law. It consisted of breaking allegiance to one's own King by forming an attachment to his enemy. Its scope was comprehensive, its requirements indeterminate. It might be predicated on intellectual or emotional sympathy with the for, or merely lack of zeal in the cause of one's own country. That was not the kind of disloyalty the framers thought should constitute treason. They promptly accepted the proposal to restrict it to cases where also there was conduct which was 'giving them aid and comfort.'"(Emphasis added).

Jackson's opinion went on to adopt the English common law definition of giving aid and comfort to the enemy.  "'Aid and comfort' was defined by Lord Reading in the Casement trial comprehensively, as it should be, and yet probably with as much precision as the nature of the matter will permit: '... an act which strengthens or tends to strengthen the enemies of the King in the conduct of a war against the King, that is in law the giving of aid and comfort' and 'an act which weakens or tends to weaken the power of the King and of the country to resist or to attack the enemies of the King and the country ... is ... giving of aid and comfort.' Lord Reading explained it, as we think one must, in terms of an 'act.' It is not easy, if indeed possible, to think of a way in which 'aid and comfort' and be 'given' to an enemy except by some kind of action. Its very nature partakes of a deed or physical activity as opposed to a mental operation." (Emphasis added).

The treasonous act I am suggesting is the act of not raising the debt ceiling in time of war.  Lest we forget, America has troops on the ground fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban, principally in Afghanistan.  We are continuing in support of NATO's mission to deter the Libyan dictator.  Non-combat troops remain in Iraq.  The bottom line is that our troops are in harm's way now.

In February Secretary of State Hilary Clinton reminded us of the on-going threat from al Qaeda.  "First, our adversary. Despite heavy losses, the al-Qaida terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 retain dangerous capabilities. They continue to plot large-scale, catastrophic international attacks and to support and inspire regional affiliates. The United States and our allies remain their principal targets. Before 2001, al-Qaida was protected in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Al-Qaida and the Taliban, along with various associated groups, still maintain an alliance, based largely in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. And the Taliban continue to wage a brutal insurgency against the government in Kabul in an effort to regain control of the country. The Taliban and al-Qaida are distinct groups with distinct aims, but they are both our adversaries and part of a syndicate of terror that must be broken" See, http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/02/156815.htm.

"A text attributed to Al Qaeda military commander Sayf Al Adl released in May 2005 identifies three primary objectives for the September 11 attacks.  According to Al Adl, Al Qaeda’s “main objective” in perpetrating the September 11 attacks was to carry out a damaging strike against the United States in retaliation for its perceived aggression in the Islamic world." "Al Qaeda’s second objective, as identified by Al Adl, was to signal and support the “emergence of a new virtuous leadership” dedicated to opposing “the Zionist-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant coalition” that Al Qaeda blames for a litany of social and political ills in the Islamic world."  "The third and “ultimate objective,” according to Al Adl, “was to prompt [the United States] to come out of its hole.” Al Adl claims that Al Qaeda wanted to provoke the United States into attacking areas of the Islamic world associated with the organization and its affiliates. In doing so, Al Adl claims, Al Qaeda hoped to make it easier to attack elements of U.S. power and to build its “credibility in front of [the Islamic] nation and the beleaguered people of the world.”" See, http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/61499.pdf.

Now come the Congressional Republicans in steadfast refusal to raise the debt ceiling.  In case you don't know raising the debt ceiling is the way we authorize the payment of our debt.  It is not new spending.  The full faith and credit of the United States is at risk.  Congressional Republicans are willing to engage in the political tactics of wreck and ruin transforming America into a second rate nation.

 

If "adhering to the enemies" of the United States means to have a lack of zeal in the cause of one's own country and giving aid and comfort continues to mean doing an act which strengthens or tends to strengthen the enemies of the [America] in the conduct of a war against [America], that is in law the giving of aid and comfort' and 'an act which weakens or tends to weaken the power of [America] and of the country to resist or to attack the enemies of the ...  the country, then refusing to raise the debt ceiling is treason.

What will  happen if the United States does not raise the debt ceiling and defaults on our loans?  A partial government shutdown will take place.  In month one of this Congressional Republican Treason one tenth of America's GDP, $134 billion, will vanish.  America's securities will be devalued and sold like junk bonds.  Our troops may be stranded in active theaters of war. The dollar will radically lose value.  The price of  oil will  triple.  Forget about getting an education, surviving on Medicare, or getting paid back on Treasury Notes.  Forget about having a job or a home.  These Congressional Republicans are the architects of anarchy. We will go from recovering from a recession and be plunged into a depression.

Can you imagine anything that will make al Qaeda happier?  America will have to do what al Qaeda wanted in the first place, get out of Saudi Arabia.  America will no longer be a deterrent to radical Muslim extremism.  We will lose this War on Terror.  We will lose because Congressional Republicans care more about defeating President Obama than governing.  We will lose because Congressional Republicans will shirk from their duty to pay the bills America has already incurred.

Should the unthinkable happen, if the traitorous  Congressional Republicans refuse to raise the debt ceiling, and America stands at the  precipice of economic collapse then there is a Constitutional option.   The fourth section of the Fourteenth Amendment says the validity of the nation's public debt shall not be called into question.  This means that when Congressional Republicans abdicate their responsibility to We the People the President will  have to, by executive order, preserve the Union and direct the Treasury Department to continue.

Congressional Republicans will set new land speed records in appealing to the Federal Courts to rebuke Obama's usurpation of their authority.  They will wish they had moved so quickly to keep America's economy sound.  In all probability the Federal Courts will refuse to hear the Congressional Treasonous Republicans because the controversy at issue is a political question.