Hungary’s top minister, Viktor Orban, met with Trump on Thursday in what he described as a “peace mission” amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
There were suggestions at the meeting that the former president may have violated Logan Business, a law that makes it illegal for Americans to negotiate without prior approval with foreign governments in dispute with the United States.
So far only two communities have been accused of violating the occupation which was introduced in 1799 – one in 1803 and the other in 1852. No individuals were prosecuted.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Some Trump critics have now asked whether the meeting between Trump and Orbán, as well as an earlier meeting between the pair in Florida in March, could represent a violation of the Logan Business Agreement.
Jerad Christian, a Democrat who works for Ohio’s Area District 12, posted on Twitter earlier: “How come we didn’t go all Logan Act (18 USC § 953) on Trump?
“It criminalizes unauthorized Americans from interacting with international governments. Trump’s meeting with Orbán is a reflective image of Trump’s little appreciation for American citizens.”
Attorney Ethan Bearman said: “I’m quite ready to recall that the closest President Trump came was that John Kerry would be prosecuted for violating Logan Business by talking to Iran. Trump is not the president, “They are unfairly discounted.”
Former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren suggested that even though the meeting may have been “potentially illegal”, it was unlikely that the Logan Act would be used against the former President.
“On international coverage, it is important that America speaks with one voice,” Warren explained. newsweek, “Logan Business prohibits individuals from taking foreign affairs into their own hands or undermining the federal government’s federal government policies. Two communities have been charged so far with Logan Business violations, and Trump will not be the third, but “Trump using his goodwill to undermine our international coverage of American adversaries like Orbán is probably illegal and certainly un-American.”
It’s unclear what exactly the pair discussed during their meeting at Mar-a-Lago.
As reported GuardianAndrew Roth of Trump’s team denied that he had asked Orbán to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin or Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on his behalf.
Roth posted on Stops.”
Trump’s legal team has been contacted via email for comment.
During an interview on Hungarian TV, Orban said that Trump told him that Republicans would “not give a dime” to Ukraine if he returned to the White House to help end the war.
Sharing a clip of Orbán’s comments, Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Laurie Garrett posted: “What Orbán is announcing here implicates Trump in Logan Business violations.”
Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, traveled to Budapest in June to meet with Orbán, and also raised concerns about the Logan Act.
Former federal prosecutor Michael McAuliffe has directed so far newsweek The Logan Business is a “largely untested” prohibition against private American voters trying to lead US global policy, potentially unable to influence Trump or his population.
McAuliffe said, “While Donald Trump Jr.’s actions in meeting with Orbán and addressing political and economic issues at several conferences could technically impact the Logan Act, actual enforcement is highly unlikely.”
“For Trump’s opponents, his son’s contacts with foreign powerful people are more grounds for arguing that Trump, if elected, plans to emulate undemocratic, authoritarian leaders in other regions of the world,” he said. “For Trump supporters, contacts with foreign leaders show that the Trump family is a geopolitical force.”
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