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Treason against the United States is one of the most serious charges you can make against anyone, especially if that person happens to be the President-elect. But an expert on law and human rights is now saying Donald Trump may already be guilty of having committed treason.

Writing in the Boston Globe, John Shattuck, a former Assistant Secretary of State and human rights expert, made an incredibly controversial assertion:

“A specter of treason hovers over Donald Trump. He has brought it on himself by dismissing a bipartisan call for an investigation of Russia’s hacking of the Democratic National Committee as a ‘ridiculous’ political attack on the legitimacy of his election as president.”

Shattuck then goes on to carefully lay out four ways in which Trump may have engaged or currently be engaging in the act of treason by being someone “having knowledge of the commission of any treason and does not disclose.” He lists four ways in which Trump has acted in such a manner:

1. Trump may be attempting to shore up his political standing before the Electoral College meets and casts their ballots on Monday, December 19.

2. He may be trying to undermine public confidence in American intelligence agencies so that when he’s inaugurated in January, he can “intimidate them and have a freer hand in reshaping the intelligence product to suit his objectives.”

3. He could be testing to see whether the American public will follow his lead over that of the intelligence community and “follow his version of the truth about national security threats.”

4. He may be attempting to cover up evidence of “involvement or prior knowledge by members of his campaign team or himself in the Russian cyber attack.”

Shattuck concludes his piece with this chilling paragraph:

“By denigrating or seeking to prevent an investigation of the Russian cyber attack Trump is giving aid or comfort to an enemy of the United States, a crime that is enhanced if the fourth explanation applies — that he is in fact seeking to cover up his staff’s or his own involvement in or prior knowledge of the attack.”

In case you’re wondering, the penalty for treason is clearly spelled out in federal law:

“Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.” (18 U.S. Code § 2381)

Featured Image Via the BBC