Buzz Paths

Former President Jimmy Carter said Monday he hoped to help open talks between Hamas and U.S. leaders, saying Washington’s policy of not meeting with people it labeled terrorists was counterproductive.

Speaking at an event organized by an Israeli financial newspaper, Carter said he wanted to become a “communicator” between Hamas and the U.S.

The State Department has designated Hamas a “foreign terrorist organization.

We have the The Logan Act (18 U.S.C.A. § 953 [1948]) which is a single federal statute making it a crime for a citizen to confer with foreign governments against the interests of the United States. Specifically, it prohibits citizens from negotiating with other nations on behalf of the United States without authorization.

Congress established the Logan Act in 1799, less than one year after passage of the ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS, which authorized the arrest and deportation of ALIENS and prohibited written communication defamatory to the U.S. government.

The Logan Act has remained almost unchanged and unused since its passage. The act is short and reads as follows:

“Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply, himself or his agent, to any foreign government or the agents thereof for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects”

The Logan Act makes it a felony and provides for a prison sentence of up to three years for any American, “without authority of the United States,” to communicate with a foreign government in an effort to influence that government’s behavior on any “disputes or controversies with the United States.” Some background on this statute helps to understand why Mr. Carter may be in serious trouble.

My personal opinion is that Jimmy Carter is in violation of the Logan Act and should be prosecuted and he should go back to building houses.

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