Trump’s Phone Call Marathon Could Get Him in Trouble
Published in Hamburger Abendblatt
(Germany) on 11 November 2024
by Dirk Hautkapp (link to original)
U.S. President-elect Trump must be careful not to undermine the incumbent in the White House. Ukraine is one example where this could come into play.
The more often the phone rings, the more important the person being called becomes. Even though his inauguration is still nine weeks away, Donald Trump, the 47th president-elect of the United States, is acting as if he is also the interim boss.
The dozens of phone calls received from various foreign heads of state and government — over 70 of them shortly after his election victory — supposedly underline Trump's importance and dominance. Who can say if all these conversations truly happened? Take the controversial call with Vladimir Putin, for instance. Phone call marathons during the transition from one administration to another are common practice and acceptable, provided no more than the usual niceties and declarations of mutual respect are exchanged. This is based on a 225-year-old law.
Trump Could Be Breaking the Law
The Logan Act prohibits private individuals from conducting unauthorized negotiations with foreign governments regarding U.S. affairs. Anyone who violates this undermines the authority of the government in office.
Trump has experienced this indirectly. Almost eight years ago, his first National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign after just a few weeks. Prior to Trump's inauguration in 2017, the former general held various secret talks with the Russian ambassador in Washington at the time, Sergey Kislyak, undermining sanctions against Moscow imposed by sitting President Barack Obama. He subsequently lied about it.
With this in mind, it's important to know what Trump really told Putin about Ukraine — if the conversation even took place.
The more often the phone rings, the more important the person being called becomes. Even though his inauguration is still nine weeks away, Donald Trump, the 47th president-elect of the United States, is acting as if he is also the interim boss.
The dozens of phone calls received from various foreign heads of state and government — over 70 of them shortly after his election victory — supposedly underline Trump's importance and dominance. Who can say if all these conversations truly happened? Take the controversial call with Vladimir Putin, for instance. Phone call marathons during the transition from one administration to another are common practice and acceptable, provided no more than the usual niceties and declarations of mutual respect are exchanged. This is based on a 225-year-old law.
Trump Could Be Breaking the Law
The Logan Act prohibits private individuals from conducting unauthorized negotiations with foreign governments regarding U.S. affairs. Anyone who violates this undermines the authority of the government in office.
Trump has experienced this indirectly. Almost eight years ago, his first National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign after just a few weeks. Prior to Trump's inauguration in 2017, the former general held various secret talks with the Russian ambassador in Washington at the time, Sergey Kislyak, undermining sanctions against Moscow imposed by sitting President Barack Obama. He subsequently lied about it.
With this in mind, it's important to know what Trump really told Putin about Ukraine — if the conversation even took place.
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