In another sign that Russian autocrat and war criminal Vladimir "Vlad the Invader" Putin has his hooks into neo-fascist demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump and his staff, incoming National Security Advisor and loose cannon Russophile Michael "Jack D. Ripper" Flynn is reported to have had multiple conversations with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. on the day 35 Russian intelligence operatives were expelled from the U.S. by the Obama Administration. The Russians were expelled in retaliation for Russia's hacking of Democratic National Committee files in order to damage Secretary Clinton's election prospects while boosting Rump's. The December 29 conversations between Flynn and the Russian ambassador raise serious questions as to whether he was "negotiating" with a foreign government as a private citizen, since the following day, Putin declared he didn't plan to retaliate for the expulsions, earning Rump's fawning approval.
1 Stat. 613, 18 U.S. Code Section 953, commonly known as the Logan Act, specifically prohibits
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...Sadly, Flynn is not subject to Senate confirmation, but he should (but likely won't) be investigated for violations of the Logan Act, and if found to be in violation, prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
BONUS: Frank Rich on the big story (h/t Mock Paper Scissors):
Let’s not pretend we don’t know what is happening here. There is evidence that Donald Trump and his administration-in-formation are partially, perhaps wholly, beholden to the Kremlin and/or those Russian oligarchs in its thrall. This is why Trump refused to answer that question about contacts with Russia during the campaign — and why he’ll lie about it when he finally feels he must muster some kind of answer. His symbiosis with Russia is also why he will never release his tax returns, for what other reason could there be at this point except that they reveal the Russian financial ties he denies? After all, we already know the other embarrassments contained in those returns — that he hasn’t paid taxes for years, that he practices no actual philanthropy, and that his businesses are in a perennial waltz with bankruptcy, fraud, and failure.
No, Russia is the big story here. The elephant in the room is a bear. Trump has made no bones about repeatedly hiring fellow Putin sycophants, whether his former campaign chief Paul Manafort, the incoming National Security Adviser, Mike Flynn, or the secretary of State nominee, Rex Tillerson. When the heroic aviator Charles Lindbergh was awarded a medal, the Service Cross of the German Eagle, by Hermann Goering “by order of der Führer” before World War II, it helped make him persona non grata in the FDR White House. When Tillerson received a Russian Order of Friendship Award from Putin, Trump regarded it as an incentive to hire him.Too:
This sure looks like a violation of the Logan Act https://t.co/hxtue5i8CR— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) January 13, 2017
