Did John Boehner Just Commit Treason

Author: Joe Fletcher January 24, 2015 9:34 am


It has been recently confirmed that John Boehner has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before congress about Iran, in the spring. The move is a complete slap in the face to President Obama; it is also very possibly an act of treason.
Before that though, the relationship between Obama and Netanyahu, and the “Zionification” of the new GOP has to be known in order to understand the current situation.
Netanyahu and Obama have had a dicey relationship essentially since the Israeli Prime Minister was voted into office. Obama has spoken out publicly against Israel constructing settlements in occupied Palestine. A nine-month moratorium that halted new construction on Israeli settlements, that was requested from the White House ended in early 2010. Joe Biden lambasted Netanyahu over the matter. Later that year, U.S peace talks between Israel and Palestine failed miserably.
It turned out that 2011 was a pivotal year in the Netanyahu-Obama saga, cementing the two’s relationship from cool to downright icy. Unaware that a microphone was turned on during the G-20 summit in Cannes, France, the then French President Nicolas Sarkozy was heard saying that he “cannot stand” Netanyahu and called him a “liar.” To which Obama responded, “You’re fed up with him, but I have to deal with him every day.” The Atlantic has a great article on the sentiments towards Netanyahu that have come out of the Whitehouse over the past few years.
It was at this point that Netanyahu seemed to be working against Obama in the upcoming 2012 election. Vox describes the events wonderfully reporting:


“… in 2011 Netanyahu started going a step further, and appeared to be working to actively remove Obama from power. During the 2012 election cycle, Netanyahu and his government were increasingly critical of Obama and supportive of Republicans, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, for whom he at times appeared to be actively campaigning. Netanyahu’s criticisms of Obama were so pointed that some of Obama’s opponents cut a campaign ad out of them. It became a joke within Israel that Netanyahu saw himself not as the leader of a sovereign country, but as the Republican senator from Israel.”


This was a major moment for the GOP, Democrats, and Zionists, that essentially sealed the fate for the GOP to become the new “party of Israel.” It was also in 2012 that Netanyahu demanded that Obama take a stand against Iran. This and other subsequent statements have demonstrated an over stepping of bounds in regards to Netanyahu’s role in influencing U.S foreign policy. Due to the amount of aid the U.S gives to Israel, Obama has played the role of the master, and Israel the dog. Netanyahu has started nipping at the hand that feeds him, with U.S Republicans coaxing the Prime Minister the whole time.
Now in 2015, the U.S is preparing for talks with Iran about their nuclear program. Obama has declared that he does not think that new sanctions against Iran will make any progress towards reaching a deal with them over their nuclear program. This is in stark contrast to the right wing’s generally held belief the U.S should bomb the f%#k out of Iran.
So now, Boehner has revealed that he has invited Netanyahu to speak to congress about what should be done with Iran. An Op-ed in Truth Out describes three possible scenarios where this could qualify as treason. Here are the two more likely scenarios.


Under the Logan Act :


“Established back in 1799, the Logan Act makes it illegal for unauthorized American citizens to negotiate with foreign governments.
Violation of the act is a felony, and comes with a punishment of up to three years in prison.
In order to prosecute Boehner under the Logan Act, there would have to be sufficient proof that he was acting “without authority” when he asked Netanyahu to come and speak to Congress, and that “authority” isn’t specified in the law…”


Alternatively, under the Section 441e of FEC law that:


“…makes it illegal for, “a person to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation” from a foreign national.
In other words, if Speaker Boehner were to accept campaign money from Netanyahu, or use the speech to help raise money for Republicans in any way, he would be guilty of violating FEC law. Somebody needs to look into this, particularly to see if the hands of any of the Republican billionaires who obsess on Israel issues are involved in this.
Section 441e also makes it illegal for “a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State or local election.”


The move to have Netanyahu speak to congress regarding Iran is a new extreme in the GOP’s plan to usurp Obama’s ability to govern. It also shows that Netanyahu is willing to play along; despite predictions it may be his undoing (if he is still in office, the Israeli elections are coming up soon). Whether or not any legal actions against Boehner come to fruition, he is asking the leader of a foreign government that has a primary concern to benefit Israel, not the United States. Perhaps, that is enough to for the people of the United States to decide on their own that he is a traitor.










Fox News Actually Expresses Shock And Outrage Over Boehner And Netanyahu Undermining President Obama




Author: Stephen D Foster Jr January 24, 2015 8:24 pm


On Friday, the world watched in disbelief as Fox News actually defended the honor and office of President Obama in the wake of Speaker Boehner violating US protocol by inviting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to speak to Congress. In other news, pigs are flying.
During a segment on Fox, host Shepard Smith discussed the scandal with fellow host Chris Wallace, and both men were absolutely shocked and outraged by the actions of the top Republican in the House of Representatives.
On Wednesday, Boehner announced that he invited Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to a joint session of Congress. The problem is that Boehner did this without clearing the invitation with the White House, which is protocol.
“The protocol would suggest that the leader of one country would contact the leader of another country when he’s traveling there. This particular event seems to be a departure from that protocol,” said press secretary Josh Earnest.
Furthermore, Netanyahu is specifically going to speak to Congress in an effort to trash Obama’s foreign policy in a deliberate attempt to wreck US nuclear negotiations with Iran, negotiations which a majority of Americans support.
You see, President Obama wants to use diplomacy to ease tensions between Iran, Israel, and the United States. That means securing an agreement that prevents Iran from developing a nuclear weapon while allowing them to use nuclear power as another source of energy in the Middle Eastern nation. But Republicans are literally trying to sabotage these efforts by seeking more harsh sanctions against Iran, which would be seen an act of American aggression at a time when the State Department and White House are seeking mutual peace.
Since the announcement, Beohner and Republicans have felt a major backlash. But the last place they thought they’d receive outrage from, if at all, is Fox News. Well, that shipped sailed on Friday.
Shephard Smith began by reading a quote by former Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk. Indyk slammed Republicans for crossing the line and disrespecting the president. “Netanyahu is using the Republican Congress for a photo-op for his election campaign, and the Republicans are using Bibi for their campaign against Obama,” Indyk said. “Unfortunately, the U.S. relationship will take the hit. It would be far wiser for us to stay out of their politics and for them to stay out of ours.”
In response, Chris Wallace said he agreed “100 percent,” with the statement and proceeded to express his own disappointment with what Boehner and the Republicans did:“And to make you get a sense of really how, forgive me, wicked, this whole thing is, the Secretary of State John Kerry met with the Israeli Ambassador to the United States for two hours on Tuesday, Ron Dermer. The ambassador, never mentioned the fact that Netanyahu was in negotiations and finally agreed to come to Washington, not to see the president, but to go to Capitol Hill, speak to a joint session of congress and criticize the president’s policy. I have to say I’m shocked.”


Shephard Smith for his part critized the Israeli government for apparently thinking that “we don’t pay attention and that we’re just a bunch of complete morons, the United States citizens, as if we wouldn’t pick up on what’s happening here.” Smith also suggested that Netanyahu may end up backing out of the invitation because of the level of outrage being expressed in Israel and in America.
Wallace called the breach of protocol “a deliberate and pretty egregious snub” that smacks of “dicey politics.”


This is a serious breach of protocol that is blatantly disrespectful toward President Obama. It’s entirely unprecedented for a member of Congress to invite a foreign leader to address the legislative branch without seeking authorization or getting cooperation from the executive. Can you imagine how outraged Republicans would have been had the Democratic Speaker of the House stabbed President Reagan in the back by inviting a foreign leader to speak before Congress without his blessing in a deliberate effort to stop nuclear talks with Gorbachev? They’d be calling for treason charges.
And quite frankly, Republicans are guilty of breaking multiple US laws by inviting a foreign leader to speak to Congress to undermine their own president.
First, we could be talking about treason, but that won’t be as easy to prosecute. However, a law passed in 1799 known as the Logan Act made it illegal for any unauthorized American citizen to negotiate with foreign leaders. That power belongs with the executive branch. That law is still in effect today, which means Boehner and the Republicans are breaking a law established by our own Founding Fathers. Boehner’s treachery also comes three weeks after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham pledged allegiance to Netanyahu during a trip to Israel.
And if you thought this incident couldn’t get more outrageous, consider this. In November, House Republicans seriously considered banning President Obama from delivering his State of the Union Address. In other words, they were going to ban their own president from speaking, but are absolutely giddy about Netanyahu delivering a speech of his own. It’s like Republicans believe Netanyahu is the real President of the United States.
This proves once and for all that Republicans have zero allegiance to this nation. Instead of supporting President Obama and his foreign policy, Republicans have chosen to follow a foreign leader instead and are actively conspiring with him to sabotage their own leader. Honestly, that is treason. Every last Republican who allows Netanyahu to speak in March should be tried for treason or at the very least, they should be forced to resign or be impeached. They are literally endangering crucial diplomatic talks that could bring about peace and do the very thing that the GOP and Israelis want the most: prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. But it sounds like what Republicans and Israelis want is to spark a full scale war.
The White House has already promised that there will be a price to pay for the utter lack of disrespect shown by Netanyahu. Ring of Fire reports that an unnamed senior White House official said,


“There are things you simply don’t do. He spat in our face publicly and that’s no way to behave. Netanyahu ought to remember that President Obama has a year and a half left to his presidency, and that there will be a price.”


Perhaps that price should be the loss of the $3 billion worth of military aid Israel receives each year from the United States. That should send a pretty strong message.