General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: It's TREASON not sedition [View all]Cirsium
(3,850 posts)Thanks. In your opinion, then, Congress must have declared war before anyone could be (legitimately?) charged with treason.
Being charged with a crime and committing a crime are not necessarily the same anything. Not all crimes result in arrests and charges. In addition, a rogue prosecutor could charge a person with anything, regardless of the letter of the law or the facts.
Merriam-Webster says treason is "the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign's family." Clearly a person could commit treason regardless of what the Constitution says or Congress does. Therefore I think that scolding and lecturing people here for accusing Trump of treason is unnecessary and provocative.
At the same time, I don't think Trump would or should be charged with treason, and it is unlikely that treason charges will ever be brought against anyone again in the absence of an officially declared war. It is also unlikely, in my opinion, that there will ever be a declared war. Of course, war will go on despite that technicality. So I guess technically no one will be killed or injured in these not wars. That is some comfort. (sarcasm there)