Report Praises Iranian Attempts to ‘Deescalate Tensions With Saudi Arabia’
Though there was no formal announcement of any policy change accompanying it, the latest Worldwide Threat Assessment, issued by the office of the Director of National Intelligence, conspicuously did not list either Iran or Hezbollah as terrorist threats to the United States.
The 2014 report declared both were direct threats to the US and its allies, and Iran had been given an entire segment of the terrorism section in the previous years.
This year, the assessment on Iran praised the nation for its attempts to “dampen sectarianism” and to “deescalate tensions with Saudi Arabia,” though they did warn that Iranian attempts to protect regional Shi’ites risked fueling a secfarian backlash against them.
Israeli officials said they believe the move is the result of a US shift toward a war with ISIS, against whom both Iran and Hezbollah are already fighting. Despite not being included in the threat assessment, Iran is still listed as a state-supporter of terrorism by the US State Department.
Republican Congressmen Violated Logan Act By Negotiating With Foreign Leaders
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/03/republican-congressmen-violating-constitution.html
They’re Trying to Destroy the Founding Fathers’ Vision of Separation of Powers
We’ve repeatedly pointed out that America is being decimated by the break down in the separation of powers between different branches of government.
The latest example is Congressional violation of the Logan Act. Specifically, the Logan Act – enacted in 1799 – 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.
The Logan Act was named for Dr. George Logan, a Pennsylvania state legislator (and later US Senator) who engaged in semi-negotiations with France in 1798 during the Quasi-War.
In United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. (1936), Justice Sutherland wrote in the majority opinion:
[T]he President alone has the power to speak or listen as a representative of the nation. He makes treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate; but he alone negotiates. Into the field of negotiation the Senate cannot intrude, and Congress itself is powerless to invade it.
Sutherland also notes in his opinion the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations report to the Senate of February 15, 1816:
The President is the constitutional representative of the United States with regard to foreign nations. He manages our concerns with foreign nations, and must necessarily be most competent to determine when, how, and upon what subjects negotiation may be urged with the greatest prospect of success. For his conduct, he is responsible to the Constitution.
I happen to think that Obama is a tyrant who – like Bush – should be impeached for trampling the Constitution. But two wrongs don’t make a right …
In inviting the leader of Israel to speak directly to the American Congress without the U.S. president’s assent, Congressional Republicans violated the Logan Act. See this, this and this.
Likewise, directly telling the leaders of Iran that America won’t honor Obama’s negotiated commitments is a violation of the Logan Act. Indeed, the Senator who organized the effort admitted that his intent was to sabotage negotiations with Iran.
Tens of thousands of Americans have signed a petition to the White House demanding treason charges against 47 Republican senators who attempted to sabotage President Barack Obama's efforts to reach a nuclear accord with Iran.
Over 155,000 people by Wednesday had signed the petition against the senators who they say committed "treasonous" offenses by writing an open to Iran's leaders.
In a bizarre move on Monday, the Republican group ignored protocol and sent a letter to Iran, warning that whatever agreement reached with Obama would be a “mere executive agreement” that could be revoked “with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time.”
The White House has announced that it responds to such petitions when they achieve the 100,000-signature target.
The petition provides the Obama administration another opportunity to condemn the letter that appears at a time when US negotiators are preparing to return to Switzerland to participate in the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 countries – the US, Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany, which have entered a sensitive final stage.
According to the petition, the 47 Republican lawmakers "committed a treasonous offense when they decided to violate the Logan Act, a 1799 law which forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments."
The federal law prohibits unauthorized American citizens from interfering in relations between the United States and foreign governments. Violation of the Logan Act is a felony.
In an interview with Press TV on Wednesday, Mark Dankof, former US Senate candidate, said, “The 47 Republican senators in all likelihood had violated the Logan Act, which, if understood properly, would suggest very strongly that there may be a legal case against these Republican senators in regard to having committed treason.”
Tom Cotton (pictured below), a freshman senator from Arkansas, drafted the much-criticized letter. He claimed that the letter has more support in the US Congress than the Republican senators who have signed it.
AMERICAN 47 REPUBLICAN SENATORS HAS SHAMELESS LETTER TO THE IRAN, CHARGES AGAINST 47 FOOLISH SENATORS
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1224021
Tens of thousands of Americans have signed a petition to the White House demanding treason charges against 47 Republican senators who attempted to sabotage President Barack Obama's efforts to reach a nuclear accord with Iran.
Over 155,000 people by Wednesday had signed the petition against the senators who they say committed "treasonous" offenses by writing an open to Iran's leaders.
In a bizarre move on Monday, the Republican group ignored protocol and sent a letter to Iran, warning that whatever agreement reached with Obama would be a “mere executive agreement” that could be revoked “with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time.”
The White House has announced that it responds to such petitions when they achieve the 100,000-signature target.
The petition provides the Obama administration another opportunity to condemn the letter that appears at a time when US negotiators are preparing to return to Switzerland to participate in the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 countries – the US, Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany, which have entered a sensitive final stage.
According to the petition, the 47 Republican lawmakers "committed a treasonous offense when they decided to violate the Logan Act, a 1799 law which forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments."
The federal law prohibits unauthorized American citizens from interfering in relations between the United States and foreign governments. Violation of the Logan Act is a felony.
In an interview with Press TV on Wednesday, Mark Dankof, former US Senate candidate, said, “The 47 Republican senators in all likelihood had violated the Logan Act, which, if understood properly, would suggest very strongly that there may be a legal case against these Republican senators in regard to having committed treason.”
Tom Cotton (pictured below), a freshman senator from Arkansas, drafted the much-criticized letter. He claimed that the letter has more support in the US Congress than the Republican senators who have signed it.
On Tuesday, the New York Daily News denounced the 47 Republican senators as “traitors” for writing letter to Iran. The Manhattan-based newspaper used its front page to condemn the Republicans for sending the letter to Iran’s leaders.
