Can a President Commit Treason?

President Trump's attorneys have claimed that the "chief law enforcement officer" cannot commit obstruction of justice, which logically raises another question: Can the "chief foreign policy officer" commit treason?  I answer that question today in an essay in The Daily Beast. Here is the gist:

If the chief law enforcement officer has carte blanche to define obstruction of justice (thus allowing him to derail investigations at will), then the chief foreign policy officer must have the same authority to determine which nations are and are not our enemies (thus allowing him to give aid and comfort to the foreign power of his choice). That is obviously an absurd outcome, but it is virtually compelled by the logic of the Kasowitz and Dowd letter, which makes the president the ultimate decider of the legality of his own actions.

We know from the constitutional text, however, that a president can indeed commit treason, as that is one of the specified grounds for impeachment, along with bribery and high crimes and misdemeanors. And if the president can commit treason, despite his authority over foreign policy, he can also commit obstruction of justice, per the Mueller investigation, his power over law enforcement notwithstanding.

You can read the entire essay here.

Comments

[anon]

This is just so bizarre, for a number of reasons.

First, it is of the "what if T did some heinous act (that he hasn't done) could we draw and quarter him?" genre; the parlor game du jour.

Second, it compares executive authority over the DOJ to the war power, which is, as any first year law student should know, a different matter under the Constitution.

Third, it ignores that the remedy of impeachment has not been questioned. The article absurdly conflates the power to indict a sitting president to the power to impeach.

Finally, it is a one-sided, biased and twisted version of the "law" propounded obvioulsy for a political, not academic, reason. As such, anyone digesting this tripe should be on notice that this isn't the produce of a fair judge.

[Deep State Special Legal Counsel]

If Trump is indicted for Treason, a good attorney would want to BCX him. A fitness evaluation. From what I see, the President doesn't appreciate what he has done or is doing. It's as if Archie Bunker, Dory Mr. Magoo and Rain man all melded together to become President. If I had a client like Trump, I would call him a wack a doo.