After his recent meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin and comments about Russian interference in the 2016 elections, President Donald Trump has sparked a new controversy relating to the constitutional definition of treason, and to what extent actions taken in support of a foreign nation might constitute treason. Today we will discuss the Treason Clause of the Constitution, what it means, and how it has been interpreted.
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PARTICIPANTS
Paul T. Crane is an assistant professor of law at the University of Richmond Law School. Previously, he served as a Bigelow Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School
Deborah Pearlstein is a professor of law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. Previously, she served in the White House from 1993 to 1995 as a Senior Editor and Speechwriter for President Clinton.
Jeffrey Rosen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Constitution Center, the only institution in America chartered by Congress “to disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.”
Related Decisions and Documents
- Opinion in Cramer v. United States, 325 U. S. 1 (1945), U.S. Supreme Court, April 23, 1945
- Opinion in Ex Parte Bollman, 8 U. S. 75 (1807), U.S. Supreme Court, February 20, 1807
- Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, August 12, 1949
Additional Resources
Our Interactive Constitution is the leading digital resource about the debates and text behind the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution. Here, scholars from across the legal and philosophical spectrum interact with each other to explore the meaning of each provision of our founding document.
- The Treason Clause by Paul T. Crane and Deborah Pearlstein
- Does the Treason Clause Still Matter? (Yes.) by Paul T. Crane
- Treason By Any Other Name by Deborah Pearlstein
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