Logan Act prosecutions?

Factual Questions
1

Jesse Jackson has been invited to meet with the Taliban government of Afghanistan. Read about it here: Jesse Jackson mulls invitation from Taliban. Of course, the White House has urged him not to accept, since the administration has no desire to negotiate with terrorist regimes. If Jackson ignores the White House, it would be a violation of the Logan Act*, which specifically forbids private citizens from conducting diplomatic negotiations without official sanction from the government.

Has anyone ever been prosecuted under the Logan Act? If so, what were the circumstances?
(Since this isn’t the Pit, let’s leave out the snide comments about Jesse. I don’t like him any more than you do, and probably a lot less. However, he’s incidental to the question.)

[sub]
The Logan act is named after George Logan. From the Columbia Encyclopedia: " A friend and supporter of Thomas Jefferson, [George Logan] went (1798) on his own authority to France to secure its accord with the United States. His mission, in part successful, was resented by Federalists, who secured the passage of the so-called Logan Act, prohibiting civilian participation in diplomatic negotiations except by official authority. He served as U.S. Senator (1801–7) and, despite the Logan Act, went to England to reconcile differences between that country and the United States"
[/sub]

2

I do recall Jackson being threatened with the Logan act in the past, he’s always meddling in some international crisis. But nothing on an official level.
I did find a web page that asserts that noone has ever been prosecuted under the Logan Act. I’ll omit the cite as this is not very useful “negative information.”

3

Hmmm. According to the Taliban, they did not invite Jackson; he contacted them. Still, they say, unsurprisingly, that they are willing to meet with him.

Jackson seems to be suggesting, if not outright saying, that the Taliban contacted him first.

Frankly I don’t know who to believe, the amoral religious leader or the Taliban. But in my view, if the Taliban contacted him first, he hasn’t done anything wrong by responding. If he contacted them first, then he’s an even bigger jerk than was previously believed.

  • Rick
4

According to my 15-year-old Encyclopedia America, no one has ever been convicted under the Logan Act. They don’t address the question of whether anyone has been prosecuted without resulting in a conviction.

Its official name is “An Act to Prevent Usurpation of Executive Functions”.

5

Isn’t the Logan act the one where you have to report for execution on your 30th birthday? :slight_smile: