Time for some law enforcement
It's bad enough when Jimmy Carter and "the Rev." Jesse Jackson do it, but when you are an elected official, I think it's even worse.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is going to meet with Syrian president dictator/terrorist Bashar Assad.
In an end-run around the Bush administration, Sen. Bill Nelson is scheduled to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Wednesday.
But Nelson’s visit is more likely a trial balloon than a solo jaunt. With the Iraq Study Group urging talks with Syria, Nelson’s reception - and his response - could provide an early signal of how realistic that idea is. Nelson has a strong pro-military, pro-Israel reputation, and if he suggests further talks are worthwhile, that could put even more pressure on the Bush administration.There are already signs of a shift. On Monday Syria reversed its long-standing insistence on a timetable for American troop withdrawal, according to Nelson’s staff.
Someone needs to start enforcing the Logan Act.
The government is so messed up nowadays. The judiciary thinks it's the legislative branch; the legislative branch thinks it's the executive branch and the executive branch is too often too tolerant of the unconstitutional actions of the other two branches.
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Before you enforce a blatantly unenforcable Logan Act, be sure to read the Speech & Debate Clause of the Constitution. Sen. Bill Nelson has every constitutional right to do this, no matter how disgusting talking to Bashar Assad is.
Besides, who's to say no one in the Bush Adminstration is asking him to do this? Most presidencies have been known to use emissaries like this.
The Speech & Debate clause prohibits arresting a member of Congress when they're in the Congress or on their way there.
Even there, there's an exception for treason or other felony. Unless you're suggesting that Damascus, Syria is somehow on the way to Washington, D.C. from Florida.
Yes, presidents often authorize envoys from Congress or even private citizens to do these types of things -- that would not be a violation of the Logan Act. However, there's no indication here that President Bush has authorized Nelson to act in that capacity.
Nelson can talk to Assad, as long as he's not pretending to "negotiate" anything. Frankly, it's hard to imagine that a "trial balloon" (as the meeting is described) in the wake of the ISG report isn't some sort of negotiation.
[...] I condemned Florida Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson earlier this month for undertaking some freelance diplomacy with Syria. To assure Hoystory readers that I can be bipartisan in my criticism, today I condemn Republican Sen. Arlen Specter for doing the same thing. [...]