The dismissal of the treason charge, wittingly or unwittingly, abets the White House strategy of improvising a new legal defense as law enforcement closes in on the perpetrators.
The claim that the Trump campaign had no contact with the Russians and that the charge of collusion was “disgusting” has morphed into the claim that collusion with a foreign power is just “politics,” and doesn’t meet the legal definition of tradition.
The goal of this strategy is to exculpate Team Trump from criminal charges as new facts emerge. There’s no reason why Trump’s critics need to play along.
The commonsense definition of treason is “betrayal of country,” the standard that Team Trump has interpreted broadly for its own purposes.
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In 2016, New Hampshire State Rep. Al Baldasaro said Hillary Clinton “should be shot for treason.” Last month Baldasaro was invited to the White House.
Team Trump has no grounds for criticizing anyone for a loose definition of treason. For the White House, “treason” is a useful stick to bludgeon its opposition.