Dr. Charles Lipson on repealing the Logan Act
Dr. Charles Lipson makes a case for why the Logan Act should be repealed, citing the most recent abuse of the law used by the FBI and DOJ against General Michael Flynn.
On May 8, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., introduced legislation to repeal the Logan Act, a 1799 law that criminalizes negotiation or intervention by American citizens without authorization in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. The legislation comes in light of the Justice Department’s decision to dismiss the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Political analyst Charles Lipson spoke to Fox News about why the Logan Act should be repealed and how it was unfairly used against Flynn in order to open an investigation into the Trump administration’s ties with Russia.
“It was used as an invented pretext to investigate General Michael Flynn when all the legitimate reasons to investigate him had been exhausted and found to be nothing. He should have been, at that point, let off the hook. Instead, what happened was FBI agents went in and interviewed him,” Lipson told Fox News.
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Only two people have ever been officially charged with violating the Logan Act over the past 221 years, and in both cases, the charges were dropped. Many argue that because the U.S. is in disputes with so many countries, it can be used as a pretext to investigate anyone who has any dealings with foreign counties.
“The law itself was, in a way, not a threat because I think most people would think 'I couldn't be convicted under it,'" said Lipson. "What it was used for was as a pretext to investigate somebody. That's exactly what happened to General Mike Flynn. They really had him on nothing. They recognized that, but they wanted to keep investigating him.”
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While it is unknown how many times the Logan Act has been used as a pretext for an investigation, Lipson says keeping this law on the books is an invitation for bad actors within the FBI and Department of Justice to continue to use it for their own politically-motivated agendas.
“This ought not to be a partisan issue. When you could use a law for mischief like that when it has no good and proper uses, why not get it off the books before it can be used for mischief again?” said Lipson.
In the case of Flynn, Lipson says the people who used the Logan Act as a gateway to opening a full-blown investigation to undermine President Trump’s 2016 election should be held accountable.
“You shouldn't have an FBI that's in the business of creating crimes, not investigating and undermining a legitimately elected president," Lipson said. "That's simply unacceptable and the people who did it should be held fully to account for that.”
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