美国国家公共电台 NPR Could Donald Trump Jr. Be Charged With Treason? Short Answer: No

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KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

Let's talk about where the Russia story is now. It's certainly been a public relations nightmare for the White House. Some are even using the word treason to describe the Trump¹ campaign's now-proven interest in cooperating with the Russians to damage Hillary Clinton. But could that interest be considered treason? NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg takes a look.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE²: The headlines get more breathless by the moment.

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UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Explosive and very-fast-moving developments in the Russian meddling³.

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UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Major breaking news.

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UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: The very latest bombshell.

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UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Breaking and stunning⁴ news in our...

TOTENBERG: The bombshell - this one involving the president's son, his then-campaign manager Paul Manafort and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner - has Washington - pardon the pun - atwitter. Here's Senator Tim Kaine, the former Democratic candidate for vice⁵ president.

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TIM KAINE: We're now beyond obstruction⁶ of justice in terms of what's being investigated. This is moving into perjury⁷, false statements and even into potentially treason.

TOTENBERG: And here's Richard Painter, who served as the chief ethics⁸ lawyer in the George W. Bush administration.

RICHARD PAINTER: The conduct of all three of them borders on the common understanding of treason and the dictionary definition of treason which focus on the betrayal of one's country, in particular helping⁹ a foreign adversary¹⁰ against one's own country.

TOTENBERG: Painter acknowledges that the crime of treason is rarely charged in the United States for a variety of reasons. For one, the Constitution says there can be treason only in times of war or attempts to overthrow¹² the government.

PAINTER: When we don't have a declared war. We just use other statues because most of what is treason would have violated another statute¹³ anyway.

TOTENBERG: Like the espionage¹⁴ laws. Today less dire¹⁵ laws are in play - campaign finance laws that unequivocally bar taking anything in value from a foreigner, including opposition¹⁶ research. Here, Trump Jr., Kushner and Manafort had a meeting with a Russian lawyer after an email exchange promising¹⁷, quote, "information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia." To that, the president's son replied, quote, "I love it." In addition, the three could be in legal jeopardy¹⁸ if they made false statements during the FBI security clearance¹⁹ process for Kushner. Again, Richard Painter...

PAINTER: They've said over and over again, we did not collude with the Russians. And they did not collude with the Russians I guess like President Clinton did not have sex with that woman. But the difference is this is a lie we care about. This is about our national security.

TOTENBERG: Using the word treason, however, can be a fraught²⁰ affair, observes Yale Law School's Eugene Fidell. He notes that the crime of treason was so abused in England that it is the only crime defined in the Constitution. Not only is the definition narrow, but the founding fathers deliberately²¹ made it hard to prove. Conviction for treason requires the testimony²² of two witnesses to each overt¹¹ act or a confession²³ in open court. Fidell objects to the rhetorical use of the words treason and traitor²⁴ today, including by President Trump during the campaign.

EUGENE FIDELL: To immediately throw the treason card on the table even in the context of mere²⁵ political discourse²⁶, it has a kind of off-with-their-heads flavor to it.

TOTENBERG: And that, he contends, is exactly what the founding fathers wanted to avoid. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.