Someone Explain This 'Shutdown' to Me?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Actually, 'enemies' is legally defined (as regards treason), so there isn't a lot of room for interpretation.

But don't get me wrong - Trump is an absolutely vile, corrupt president, and few things would make me happier than to see him frog-marched out of office. But treason?  Nope, not yet.


Boru

I think the definition of enemies is not as clear cut as those who reasonable would wish the definition to be clear cut thinks.

The definition of enemies is generally taken to mean parties with whom the US is in ether a declared state of war, or in open war.

An declaration of war can certainly be retroactive, as some declarations of war in American history has been.   Notably American declaration of war against japan after Pearl Harbor was retroactive to the attack on Pearl Harbor itself.

So it is certainly possible for the US to declare today a state of has existed with Russia since the day before yesterday, thus what trump did yesterday to give aid and comfort to Russia was treason.

The question is what can be spun as a plausible causus belli the day before yesterday and thus the declaration of war itself can be made to seem legitimate.   This is all very banana-republicky,  but we are living in a banana republic now, and it does not seem nearly as improbable now as it did two years ago that the US will attain that level of banana-ness in the future.

Some legal opinions hold that charging Trump with treason would be tantamount to a declaration of war, which strikes me as a good reason not to do it. But a better reason not to charge him with treason is that it would be a shaky prosecution at best, especially as there are so many, many other things to charge him with which stand a much better chance of holding up.

Boru