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Treason is narrowly defined and convictions are very rare under US law: https://theweek.com/articles/869173/brief-history-treason-united-states https://theweek
by philipkglass 1y ago
Treason is narrowly defined and convictions are very rare under US law:
https://theweek.com/articles/869173/brief-history-treason-united-states https://theweek.com/articles/869173/brief-history-treason-un...
The history of actual treason, in the sense of federal criminal prosecutions for the concept defined in the Constitution and adopted almost immediately as a federal offense, is remarkably short. Since the ratification of the Constitution in 1789, there have been only 40 federal treason cases, and far fewer convictions. (John Adams secured the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts in part because the constitutional definition of treason was too narrow.) Even the most famous "traitors" in American history were not technically guilty of treason. Benedict Arnold might plausibly have argued that it was those on the side he betrayed who were guilty of treason; Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were actually convicted of conspiracy to engage in espionage.