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If reports are true, it would be a violation of the Logan Act.

“The reporting is that former President Trump is on the phone with the Prime Minister of Israel, urging him not to cut a deal right now, because it’s believed that would help the Harris campaign,” said PBS’s Judy Woodruff Monday night. “So, I don’t know where—who knows whether that will come about or not, but I have to think that the Harris campaign would like for President Biden to do what presidents do, and that’s to work on that one.”

Woodruff clarified on Wednesday that the anecdote was not based on her original reporting, but rather on an an Axios story last week that cited two U.S. sources as claiming that Trump and Netanyahu had spoken on the phone about cease-fire and Gaza hostage talks. Netanyahu’s office and Trump both separately denied the report.

“I did encourage him to get this over with. You want to get it over with fast. Have victory, get your victory, and get it over with. It has to stop, the killing has to stop,” Trump said at a New Jersey press conference on Thursday, referring to their meeting at Mar-a-Lago last month. But he also criticized cease-fire demands.

  • floofloof@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    Continuing the old Republican tradition of prolonging wars and crises, no matter how many people suffer or die, to make their opponent look bad in an election. Nixon sabotaged Vietnam peace talks to prolong the war and defeat Johnson; Reagan is said to have sabotaged talks with Iran to prevent American hostages being released, in order to defeat Carter.

    • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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      3 months ago

      The Reagan-Carter election is the first one I vaguely remember as a kid, and to have the news of the freed hostages get announced at the inauguration seemed so convenient even for a politically uninformed kid. Yet I heard so much of “see, he got elected and got them free!” NO, Carter did the work, dumbasses. At the cost of his reelection.

  • Hirom@beehaw.org
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    3 months ago

    If that happened, I sincerely hope there is proof, and that it’s on its way to a capable prosecutor.

    • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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      3 months ago

      If that happened, I sincerely hope there is proof, and that it’s on its way to a capable prosecutor.

      Preferably before November.

      • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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        3 months ago

        When Trump left office he took classified documents with him which was illegal. Like he possessed something it was illegal to possess. it’s over three years later and the prosecution is still underway.

        So it’s very doubtful that a crime he just committed will be prosecuted before November. Though it will be prosecuted at a future date, if people go out and vote to keep him from being President again.

      • Hirom@beehaw.org
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        3 months ago

        No need to look very far. The answer is within the subheading of the article being discussed here. You don’t even need to click the link nor to read the article, since tartigrada included this information in the quote that’s part of this post’s text:

        Donald Trump is reportedly advising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which would be a violation of the Logan Act.

      • tardigrada@beehaw.orgOP
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        3 months ago

        Logan Act

        The Logan Act (1 Stat. 613, 18 U.S.C. § 953, enacted January 30, 1799) is a United States federal law that criminalizes the negotiation of a dispute between the United States and a foreign government by an unauthorized American citizen. The intent behind the Act is to prevent unauthorized negotiations from undermining the government’s position.

  • Zeke@fedia.io
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    3 months ago

    Vote. Trump doesn’t give a fuck about the Palestinians. You’re not helping them by not voting.

    • theVerdantOrange@beehaw.org
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      3 months ago

      Meanwhile, you have GOP names like Max Miller and Michelle Bachman saying the quiet part out loud when it comes to eradicating Gaza and everybody in it. Don’t only vote for president, but make sure you get the GOP congresspeople out too!

      • LukeZaz@beehaw.org
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        3 months ago

        So if leftists really cared about Gaza, they’d… not protest the party currently in power? The one selling the bombs?

        Because I don’t think you genuinely believe any leftist, tankie or otherwise, actually likes Trump. I think you just don’t like it when they protest Biden or Harris.

        • nonailsleft@lemm.ee
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          3 months ago

          They can protest Biden and Harris all day every day for all I care

          What I don’t like is that they’re planning to sit at home with their arms crossed while Trump gets elected

    • t3rmit3@beehaw.org
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      3 months ago

      Tankies aren’t pro-Trump, and Trump isn’t in office. Do you think Biden is going to actually do anything about Trump doing this (like having the DoJ investigate/charge him under the Logan Act)? He doesn’t want a ceasefire either.

        • t3rmit3@beehaw.org
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          3 months ago

          Sure, because he is the President, and belongs to ostensibly the “Left-wing party”. Trump can’t send them bombs. Trump can’t protect them from others intervening to stop their genocide.

          Trump doesn’t actually have any leverage to move Netanyahu either direction, and anyone who is being honest knows Netanyahu has had no intention of ending this any time soon, so Trump was just telling him to do what he already planned to.

          The scandal here has, in reality, nothing to do with Gaza, and everything to do with the US election. Trump attempting to take any action that violates the Logan Act in order to help in the election is an attempt to subvert democracy.

          The fact that he chose to violate the Logan Act just to tell someone not to do something they had no plans to, just speaks to his idiocy.

          • derbis@beehaw.org
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            3 months ago

            If he is giving a foreign head of state reassurance that US policy will change if he wins, he is also subverting US policy. This is far from a nothingburger.

    • LukeZaz@beehaw.org
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      3 months ago

      So people need to vehemently denounce Trump once per hour or else they must obviously be siding with him…?

      Seriously though, isn’t it obvious? If you expect Trump to be terrible, why would you fly into a rage when he meets that expectation? By contrast, Biden is expected to be better than this, and yet isn’t.

      Pressure is applied where it is most effective. That is not and will never be anyone from the Republican party, because they openly and obviously do not give a fuck about any of us.

      (edited for kinder tone)

      • fine_sandy_bottom@lemmy.federate.cc
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        3 months ago

        Pressure is applied where it is most effective.

        My point is, by complaining about the Dems and not about Trump you’re undermining the likelihood of a Dem president.

        The whole “genocide joe” narrative did not provide any benefit in Gaza, but significantly improved the chances of a Trump presidency.

        Protesting outside the DNC is actively supporting a Trump presidency and worse outcomes in Gaza.

        • LukeZaz@beehaw.org
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          3 months ago

          The whole “genocide joe” narrative did not provide any benefit in Gaza,

          Biden’s admin absolutely noticed the protests against him and it was because of that that we got a pause (however temporary) on some of the heavy ordnance sold to Israel. The uncommitted votes in the primaries did not go unnoticed either. Not to mention that absolutely none of us are suggesting Trump is a viable alternative to anyone (i.e. we are not discouraging voting against him), and that we’d protest just as fervently (if not more) if he did win.

          All this however is placing the blame on us for standing up for what we believe in, and implicitly forgiving the Biden admin for the atrocities they enable — after all, if they wanted to secure their candidacy more, why not acquiesce? Everyone’s all ready to criticize the people protesting to save lives, but not so much prepared to criticize the people enabling the killing?

          Still, let’s be generous and take this as true regardless. Once the election is over, are you willing to commit to joining us in protesting until the U.S. stops sending weapons to Israel, regardless of who wins?

          • fine_sandy_bottom@lemmy.federate.cc
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            3 months ago

            I don’t concede that the protests thus far have reduced any suffering I’m Gaza.

            If you want to minimise suffering in Gaza, make sure Harris wins. Do these protests further that objective?

            I understand you’re not suggesting people vote for Trump, but that just gets lost in the noise. There’s plenty of people that would see these protests and conclude that “both sides are bad” and simply not vote.

            I still won’t be protesting after the election. Firstly because im not in the US, but even if i was I just don’t think it’s a very effective use of time.

  • Che Banana@beehaw.org
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    3 months ago

    said PBS’s Judy Woodruff Monday night. “So, I don’t know where—who knows whether that will come about or not…

    LoL, it’s Trump…nothing will happen to his cheesburder ass

    • bradinutah@thelemmy.club
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      3 months ago

      With or without any presidential immunity, Weird DonOLD enjoys the upper tier of privileged criminal justice that make him more equal than everybody else, or so it seems with his loyal subjects on SCOTUS who keep helping him be free to commit more crimes.

    • WHARRGARBL@beehaw.org
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      3 months ago

      IIRC, he was caught withholding congressionally allocated money from Ukraine in order to extort them into an investigation on Hunter Biden, in the hope it would impact the 2020 election. And I don’t recall any repercussions.

      • Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        3 months ago

        He technically did get impeached for that, he didn’t get removed from office (which is infuriating) but it was one of his impeachments.

        He definitely should have faced more though

  • acargitz@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    Harris needs to bring this up in the debate. Have him confess to breaking the Logan Act on live TV. Show us those prosecutor chops!

    • InternetUser2012@lemmy.today
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      3 months ago

      He’ll deny it just like he’ll deny project 2025. “fake news” and we all know he’s full of shit but his brain dead cult will eat it up.