[EDIT 1: WITH COMMENTS FROM RACHEL MADDOW]
[EDIT 2: SEAN SPICER GRILLING IN WHITEHOUSE PRESS BRIEFING]
I wrote previously about Kellyanne ‘Con’ Way’s ethics adventure. Well, we didn’t have to wait for the next installation. While we already knew/suspected that there were significant violations of the Logan Act by the National Secretary Advisor, we got confirmation of this last night from his resignation. So what is the Logan Act?
Here is the synopsis:
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.
For the more detail read on it, go here.
This is the same act that were potentially violated when the Republican senators conspired and sent a letter to Iran in an effort to undermine President Obama’s negotiations with Iran on its nuclear weapons. Clearly, the GOP is no stranger to such constitutional and federal violations... and we just confirmed that neither is the barely-month-old administration.
What makes yesterday’s Michael Flynn resignation more explosive than the Kellyanne Conway fiasco is that... there clearly has been an attempt by the Whitehouse to cover up the issues surrounding Flynn’s call with Russia. The resignation only came about when it was clear that there was actual evidence that the call happened and that Flynn even went to the extent of (belatedly) using encryption to cover his tracks. So as the Democrats demand: “What did the WhiteHouse know and when?”
As always, don’t hold your breath for the GOP and Republican Congress and Senate to actually investigate anything useful. If anything, I hope that this serves as a useful reminder for those among us who were more ‘concerned’ about Hillary’s email server to not fall for Republican witch-hunts again.
===========INCLUDING SOME COMMENTARY FROM RACHEL MADDOW======================
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