September 23, 2019

Bill Weld stands out in the Trump derangement crowd by saying Trump committed treason and the "only penalty" for treason is death.

Fox News reports.
“Talk about pressuring a foreign country to interfere with and control a U.S. election, it couldn’t be clearer. And that’s not just undermining democratic institutions, that is treason," Weld said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "It’s treason pure and simple. And the penalty for treason under the U.S. Code is death. That’s the only penalty.... The penalty under the Constitution is removal from office, and that might look like a pretty good alternative to the president if he could work out a plea deal.... The only penalty for treason is death, it’s spelled out in the statute.”

While the U.S. Code does list the death penalty as a punishment for treason, Weld’s claim that it is the only penalty is false. Treason is covered by 18. U.S. Code § 2381, which says that a person guilty of treason “shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”

68 comments:

Bay Area Guy said...

Treason is also discussed in the Constitution (Art 3, Section 3):

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

So, I reckon I would ask 'ole Bill Weld, the following:

1. Was DJT levying war against the United States?
2. Is Ukraine an Enemy, and was DJT giving it aid and comfort?
3. Who are the 2 witnesses to the allegedly treasonous act?

You know, I am slowly getting the impression that Democrat politicians and RINO republican #NeverTrumpers, like to throw out wild, ill-considered charges on phony fake news shows that collapse in a few days/weeks/months.

Am I right about dat?

jaydub said...

18. U.S. Code § 2381 doesn't apply because Trump. Only a death penalty is appropriate, also because Trump. Wait until Billy Weld hears about Trump telling the Ukraine president not to worry because he would have more flexibility after the election. Oh, wait.....

Jersey Fled said...

“Talk about pressuring a foreign country to interfere with and control a U.S. election, it couldn’t be clearer."

You mean like Hillary and the DNC did with Australia, Great Britain, and possibly Italy?

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

These people are ridiculous.

Jersey Fled said...

“Talk about pressuring a foreign country to interfere with and control a U.S. election, it couldn’t be clearer."

And by the way, aren't there a few steps we need to go through first before we schedule the execution? Like proving that it actually happened?

Dave Begley said...

That is insanity. People can see that.

Charlie said...

I believe it will turn out that Trump is paying Weld to run against him. That's the only logical explanation.

Beasts of England said...

Hopefully this will motivate more states to cancel their Republican presidential primaries.

Ken B said...

Gotta do something to compete with Thunberg.

Rocketeer said...

Good grief. Trump must have something on Lyssa, he's caused nearly half the population to fall under the thrall of the Maniae.

rehajm said...

Inside info just between us: Weld, Joe and Minka have been known to hang out in the owner's box together at Red Sox Games...

Ken B said...

I feel like the anti Trumpers just don’t understand a key point. You need to offer someone better. Not everyone is going to agree on what is better of course but it’s pretty clear that this isn’t better.

Now Weld cannot even pose as a thoughtful or serious critic anymore. So why run?

Antiantifa said...

Bill Weld is a nut. Someone put me on his mailing list and every email he sends increases the likelihood I will not vote for him. There is something inherently selfish about a candidate running against a sitting President in a primary, especially when that President is popular in his party. The craziest thing is that Weld is a traditional -- now nearly extinct -- New England Liberal Republican. Like Weld, Trump is also a social liberal. If Weld was not such a snob, he would love him.

Darrell said...

Were his eyes spinning like pinwheels when he said that?

doctrev said...

But but but Trump is unleashing demons on the American public!

Libertarians have the most to immediately lose from absolutely every side if the current cold war goes hot. Liberals hate their smug free market pontificating, and nationalists hate their anti-white think tank flattery. It won't end well for these people, even if they're obviously pawns of the Clintons.

Gunner said...

Old Rinos never die.

Well they do, but not before showing they are crazy libtards and planning week-long funerals.

vanderleun said...

Get back to me when somebody gives Weld a pink-mist sombrero.

bagoh20 said...

Well, he is trying to be a leader. He's trying to be Nicholson's character in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

bagoh20 said...

Well, he is trying to be a leader. He's trying to be Nicholson's character in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

RobinGoodfellow said...

Trumplaw—like Calvinball, the rules are ever-changing and, ultimately, unknowable.

Sebastian said...

And they accuse Trump of breaking norms?

Mike Sylwester said...

Just like in the Russian Revolution, the entire family should be executed. All Trump's wives and children should be shot along with Trump. Make sure that there is no successor.

Michael K said...

Weld is a rich nobody. Another Romney with less talent.

Gojuplyr831@gmail.com said...

Not only is Weld batshit crazy, he’s also clueless on the law. Nothing he accuses Trump of amounts to treason, and the statute doesn’t have death as the only penalty. Weld was counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, and was head of the Criminal Division at Justice as well as a US Attorney. Either he needs to be checked for dementia, or those institutions are in even sorrier shape than I thought.

Via Instapundit

Leland said...

Note to self; Bill Weld should be ignored like an internet troll.

tim in vermont said...

"and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”

That sounds like the same penalty for destroying federal records.... like the Secretary of States’ meeting schedule.... in a Sate Department burn bag..... as testified to by her aide Huma....

https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/0705/Did-Hillary-Clinton-violate-protocol-by-using-burn-bags

Imagine if Trump had destroyed records of his meetings and his closest most trusted aide testified to it under threat of perjury.

Ken B said...

What is really revealing about this is “it’s spelled out in the statute”, a confident authoritative flourish, an evocation of a long held dream. It doesn’t matter that it’s easily disproven. He knows his audience won’t care. They are in an endorphin haze.

Still it’s kind of ugly, rhapsodizing over the death of your opponent.

MikeR said...

Thank goodness the Republican Party can offer good sane alternatives to Donald Trump.
Well, maybe leave out "sane".

eric said...

I'd say this sorta talk is crazy talk.

But these days he doesn't sound any different than your standard Democrat.

readering said...

Yeah Weld has lost it.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

There's no way competitive hysteria can be a viable political strategy and I'm pretty sure that, by this point, it's adherents know that. Now you can say it's about delegitimizing but, clearly, that isn't working either. So what's it all about, really? Is it simply fashion?

Patrick Henry was right! said...

And Trump is supposed to be the crazy one???
Weld is a law professor???
And former Governor???

Lord help the people.......

khematite said...

"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort."

How does Trump's conversation with Zelensky constitute "levying war" against the US? And when was Ukraine designated a US enemy.?

Hard to believe that Weld is a lawyer..

rhhardin said...

Death would be great for ratings.

rhhardin said...

There's always eternal life, if Trump's a christian.

Rick said...

I thought of you when I read this today.

Ann Althouse said...
The Libertarians would never have nominated Weld. Johnson brought him in and had to fight for him. Johnson knows Weld is the better man, and he keeps revealing that to us. That's impressive of Johnson.

8/4/16, 6:16 PM

People with charisma often use it to cover their ugly nature.

The Godfather said...

ART III, Sec. 3 of the Constitution: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

"The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted."

Weld is a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School. Harvard should be ashamed.

Mark O said...

Everything is treason.

mikesixes said...

Biden has said, publicly and proudly, that he threatened to cut off a billion dollar aid package to Ukraine if they didn't fire the prosecutor who was investigating the company that was paying Biden's son $600k per year for an honorary "job". Does the fact that Biden is now running for the Democratic nomination make him immune from investigation? Given that Biden was also part of the administration that incompetently attempted to frame Trump for somehow rigging the 2016 election, I think it's totally reasonable to look into whatever other corrupt activities he got up to.

Kevin said...

Wait until he finds out how many people worked with foreign governments to interfere with the 2016 election.

There may not be enough trees on the Mall to hang everyone.

Amadeus 48 said...

Dementia-1; Weld-0.

Thuglawlibrarian said...

these folks have lost their fucking minds...

Kevin said...

Let's be real.

Bill Weld wasn't the only person on MSNBC this morning who wants Trump put to death.

effinayright said...

Someone called into Howie Carr's show in Boston and wondered whether Weld's running mate would be Jim Beam, or Jack Daniels.

Francisco D said...

Bill Weld wasn't the only person on MSNBC this morning who wants Trump put to death.

There is something in the air at MSNBC that causes lunacy.

Vance said...

So question: Is Weld a poster here at Althouse? He sounds like Howard or Ritmo or Inga. ARM and Readering and Cook aren't that far gone.

Vance said...

Or is Weld actually Chuck? Moderate Republican, hates Trump to the point of Lunacy, openly fantasizing about executing Trump .... isn't that Chuck?

Strike against that idea is that Weld didn't make threats against Trump's family.

More seriously: has anyone on the left condemned this or even been asked about it? "Senator Harris, another presidential candidate just called for the execution of Trump. Do you agree or disagree?"

narciso said...

0h well:


https://www.foxnews.com/media/white-house-trump-ukraine-call-transcript

Bay Area Guy said...

If the President says something you don't like, TREASON!

If the President does something you don't like, IMPEACH!

There has to be a political "Boy who Cried Wolf" denouement (fancy french word) in the near future for these leftist hacks.

The Godfather said...

One of the problems with moderating comments is that it delays things, so I went to the trouble of looking up what constitutes "treason", but so did a lot of other commenters, so some of our work was unnecessary.

Too bad Weld didn't take the trouble.

Yancey Ward said...

Trump is fortunate that his enemies in both parties are complete fucking morons. I don't know how Trump manages to bring out the very worst in his opponents- is luck, or is it Trump superpower?

narciso said...

mindstone, keeps it a drawer in the Rutherford hayes desk:

https://babalublog.com/2019/09/23/mostly-mexican-who-che-guevara-despised-protestors-in-san-francisco-mecca-of-gays-who-che-guevara-jailed-and-tortured-en-masse-hail-che-guevara-who-filled-prison-camps-faster-than-stalin-during/

Rick said...

The missing tag is William (not Bill) Weld.

LA_Bob said...

Kind of funny, really. William Weld appears in Harvey Silverglate's Three Felonies a Day in a most unflattering light. He was a Federal prosecutor seeking to nail Boston mayor Kevin White on a corruption charge based on false testimony against a contractor.

Silverglate in this interview seems actually to like Weld overall for his libertarian leanings. But Weld's statements to MSNBC suggest he's willing to put on his old prosecutorial hat and "trump up" some charges against the guy he's running against. Sweet.

I'm glad Weld has no chance of taking the Republican nomination from Trump. No reason to reward him for his stupid "treason" remarks.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"Or is Weld actually Chuck?"

Solid theory.

David Begley said...

If this clown ever shows up in Iowa, I’ll be there.

David Begley said...

But I’m not driving to Des Moines for lunch,

Mark Sanford. Sep 25, 2019, 12 p.m.
Arby's, 208 Johnson Ct, Des Moines, IA
Meet and greet.

Sanford has the meats!

wild chicken said...

But wait, Ukraine is an old enemy of Russia, and ..I'm so confused...

rehajm said...

He took down the toll plaza in West Newton late on a Sunday night. It was gone for the morning commute. Good for him...

gilbar said...

I'm Pretty Sure, that what Weld meant was:
Donald Trump is guilty of Treason, not only against the Democrat Party; but against the GODHEAD, Hillary Rodham Clinton Rodham. . .
And,
As We ALL Know; the ONLY Penalty for committing Treason against Hillary Rodham Clinton Rodham: Is DEATH!

Jon Ericson said...

Seen at Ace's:

Weld Offers Final Solution to the Trumpish Question

Fandor said...

Weld, as Joan Rivers would say, "Oh, grow up!"

Tomcc said...

Treason...execution...
Good grief, when did we become a banana republic?

Michael K said...

I don't know how Trump manages to bring out the very worst in his opponents- is luck, or is it Trump superpower?

He exudes a field force that attracts morons. I see it on facebook and in the Tucson newspaper. It's a gift.

rcocean said...

Wasn't Weld a libertarian in 2016? Or were we supposed to know that was all a gag?

He's not only a nut, he's been a nut for a long time. He left a Governorship to be an Ambassador. How many people do that? And then he insulted Jesse Helms over and over, so he didn't get the Ambassadorship. And he hasn't held office for 20 years.
But i noticed that Weld is 6-4. Comey is 6-8. De Blasio is 6-5. Is excessive tallness in politics a sign of a goof?

Regarding Mark Sanford, there's this.

Unlike other presidential campaigns, Sanford has opted at this point not to engage a full, formal staff, choosing instead to rely on a “band of volunteers” to help coordinate his challenge to President Donald Trump. While there is a point person for press inquiries at this juncture, it is not clear whether Sanford has anyone assigned to doing advance work on behalf of the campaign.

LOL!

minnesota farm guy said...

Senile or not Bill Weld is a drunk. He has been since his college days.

Narayanan said...

Bill Weld : Education: Harvard University (BA, JD); University College, Oxford

Marty said...

What does Weld think Trump did that meets the Constitutional definition of treason?

"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court."

The worst possible construction of what has been alleged doesn't come close to that.

Now, Ted Kennedy and John Tunney back in 1983, OTOH...