Jeffrey Toobin Tears Into Trump Over His Latest Tweet Declaring ‘Treason’

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CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin called President Trump’s cries of “TREASON” on Friday morning “reckless and irresponsible,” adding that it’s yet another norm the President has broken.

“And treason is a crime for which death is a potential penalty,” Toobin said on CNN’s “New Day.” “It is so reckless and irresponsible to talk that way. One of the things that this president has done has violated so many norms.”

“It’s not illegal to say what he said, but the idea of a president accusing people of any crime — remember, he accused  Michael Cohen’s in-laws of crimes. A president, who is the head of the Justice Department, the head of the FBI, accusing people of crimes, much less crimes punishable by the death penalty, is really a grotesque abuse of power,” he added. “It’s gone on for so long now, that we’re kind of, oh, well, you know, it’s just another tweet. But it is worth pausing to recognize how reckless that is.”

Trump on Friday morning tweeted that his campaign was “conclusively spied on” and said it amounted to “TREASON!”

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Notable Replies

  1. One of the things that this president has done has violated so many norms.

    Is there a norm he has not violated?

  2. “Treason means long jail sentences.” We’ll remember you said this, Orange Voldemort.

  3. Hey Jeffrey,

    You elided the most important part: Treason is the only crime defined in the Constitution. It’s defined as

    Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

    None of what Fat Nixon is complaining about comes close to meeting this definition. His up-close-and-personal relationship with his Uncle Vlad comes a lot closer, but even there I don’t think it quite reaches the definition.

  4. Can’t we just impeach the motherfucker and give him a reality TV show or something, or a guarantee of no prosecution in return for a resignation? Maybe throw in all the KFC and Big Macs he can eat for life?

    I really would like to see him prosecuted and in jail, but I’d be willing to let that slide to just get him out of office already (and prosecution may be unlikely anyway, even as much as he deserves it).

  5. Electromagnetism, gravity, and the particle strong force.

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