At a public news conference following his private meeting with the President of Russia, Mr. Putin, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, committed an act of treason.
Article III, sect. 3 of the U.S. Constitution defines treason as levying war against the United States or giving aid and comfort to an enemy of the United States. Recently, a federal grand jury brought charges against 12 Russian agents, identifying them by name as members of Russian security forces, charging them with interfering with an American election and attempting to influence its outcome. This was clearly a hostile act, and by so acting these agents and the government that they work for, which Mr. Putin heads, have acted as enemies of the United States of America, or so it should be regarded until the charges are formally answered and defendants acquitted by trial in a U.S. federal court.
By dismissing the charges and questioning the competence of U.S. intelligence agencies, the courts and his own Department of Justice, Mr. Trump offered aid and comfort to an enemy, one so regarded by the Justice Department and by a federal grand jury. We have written our representative to the U.S. House, Peter Welch, asking that he introduce a motion to the Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against Mr. Trump. We are submitting this letter to the Addison Independent in order to urge others to do the same.
This is not a partisan issue. It concerns the integrity of our constitutional system.
Betty and Victor Nuovo
Middlebury