Sydney, Australia. The outback of Australia is an unlikely place to take a shot at Donald Trump from. But Senator John McCain in a break with post WWII American political orthodoxy has done just that, opening the doors to the slippery slope of treason in his case.
In American politics, there is the conception that, whatever the internal divisions over foreign policy, they must be subordinated to the united front the US political establishment presents to the world.
McCain has a bad history of doing as he wishes. There are laws that restrict senators from making up US foreign policy on their own, as he frequently has, like in Ukraine-where he has promised President Petro Poroshenko, no less than a return of Crimea and Donbass. For which he recieves unlimited campaign cash from Kiev.
And under no circumstances should an American political leader traveling abroad denounce the head of state. That rule was explosively thrown overboard by Arizona Senator John McCain on Tuesday.
Speaking in Australia before high-ranking state and military officials, including two former prime ministers, McCain delivered a damming indictment of Donald Trump and called upon the Australian government to defy his administration.
“I realize that some of President Trump’s actions and statements have unsettled America’s friends,” he said. “They have unsettled many Americans as well. There is a real debate underway now in my country about what kind of role America should play in the world. And frankly, I do not know how this debate will play out.
“What I do believe, and I do not think I am exaggerating here, is that the future of the world will turn, to a large extent, on how this debate in America is resolved.”
The implications of which are enormous. On a trip outside the USA, McCain has openly questioned the leadership of the President and suggested government is in a position to carry on “without him.” You could not say treason any louder if you tried.
He continued: “I know that many of you have a lot of questions about where America is headed under President Trump. Frankly, so do many Americans… But it has many decent, capable people—Jim Mattis, H.R. McMaster, John Kelly, Mike Pompeo, Dan Coats, Rex Tillerson—people who deserve your support, and need it.”
The Logan Act is a United States federal law that details the fine and/or imprisonment of unauthorized citizens who negotiate with foreign governments having a dispute with the United States. It was intended to prevent the undermining of the government’s position in foreign relations. The Act was last amended in 1994, and violation of the Logan Act is a felony. While never really used in our time, one might wonder if Trump’s lawyers have thought of reeling in a man out to stop Trump’s version of the future at all costs.