Dana Milbank: It's treason season, according to Trump

It must be the season of betrayal.

Thursday afternoon, in the oval office, President Trump gave a lecture of American justice to the visiting South Korean president. Speaking of the Mueller investigation and its origins, Trump said: "It's actually a betrayal."

It was not casual. On Wednesday, Trump tweeted that the investigation was a "treason hoax" and that "what the Democrats are doing with the border is TREASURING". The same day, boarding Marine One, he reaffirmed what the Democratic and Justice Ministry officials had done in the probe Mueller "was a betrayal."

On April 6, he stated that it was "about time for the perpetrators … to start defending their dishonest and treacherous acts." He added an injunction associated with the Holocaust: "Never forget!

It has become a routine. Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity, "It was really a betrayal. … you are talking about a major betrayal. Is a minor betrayal a thing?

Trump has publicly invoked "treason" or "betrayal" 26 times, according to Factba.se's compilation of Trump's statements. This is in addition to the many and various references to the "traitor". He began by accusing Bowe Bergdahl, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, then Univision and Macy's leaders, Republicans who did not support him, Democratic lawmakers who did not support him. not applauded, the New York Times failing. , media in general, people fleeing in his administration, and Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John Podesta, Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch, Huma Abedin, James Comey, James Clapper, Rod J. Rosenstein, Robert Mueller, Andrew McCabe Lisa Page and Peter Strzok.

The Constitution expressly states that treason "will only be in the war against" the United States "or to adhere to their enemies, providing them with help and comfort," and it requires two witnesses. The US Penal Code requires treasonable persons to "die or be imprisoned for at least five years".

The strict definition and the heavy sentence make treason cases rare: only about 30 in the history of the United States. Trump must know this because he is committed to protecting the 12 articles of the Constitution, even though he has only seven. He seemed to recognize the seriousness of the accusation of betrayal when she was brought against him. "When they say" betrayal ", you know what it is that betrayal? It's Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for giving the atomic bomb," he said in 2017. (In reality, Charge was a conspiracy to commit espionage.)

Because Trump knows the seriousness of the accusation, he must therefore interpret treason in the same way as King Henry VIII, in the lèse-majesté sense: treason is all that undermines the dignity of the sovereign. The disagreement with Trump is a crime against the state, just as Henry executed unfaithful women for treason.

This means that the following people have committed capital crimes: All journalists and night entertainers. Anyone who flees. All Democratic members of Congress and people who have worked in democratic administrations. Anyone who ran against Trump. Anyone who criticizes Trump on social media. All those who voted against Trump.

This means that 65,853,514 Hillary Clinton voters will have to be jailed or executed. The US criminal justice system can not handle much more than the 2.3 million people it already holds.

This unfortunately pleads in favor of mass execution – unless exile is a possibility? Imagine the size of this caravan heading south towards Mexico.

At first, Trump was relatively restrained in his betrayal speech. He even criticized the liberal use of Kim Jong Un's accusation of treason. (Trump now calls Kim his "friend".) He began to apply more etiquette to the Mueller probe and FBI officials. in 2018. He determined that "the fugitives are traitors" and stated that the critical coverage of his interviews with Kim was "almost treason." He stated that an unnamed opinion editor and the New York Times had both committed treason.He said that the Democrats who did not applaud during his State of the Union address were "anti-American." Someone said: " traitor."

Democrats continue to commit treason in disagreement with Trump on immigration, although most betrayals are committed these days by the courts. An image, retweeted by Trump in November, showing various senior officials and former law enforcement officials (including Rosenstein, his own representative) behind bars, asked, "When treason trials start?"

Trump's new attorney general, William Barr, feeds Trump's paranoia. His statement last week that law enforcement officials were "spying" on the Trump campaign provoked a new cry of treason.

During his confirmation hearings, Barr stated that "the Barr and Mr. Mueller were good friends and that they would be good friends once everything was over." Perhaps they could remember their friendship while Mueller awaits his turn on the gallows.

To follow Dana Milbank on Twitter, @Milbank.