Former White House adviser and United Nations ambassador Susan Rice called out former President Trump over a report that he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin at least seven times since leaving office, suggesting such calls would violate the Logan Act.
The law, which makes it illegal for American citizens to negotiate with foreign governments in dispute with the United States without prior approval, was introduced in 1799 and is meant to prevent unauthorized diplomacy from undermining the current administration’s position.
Trump’s adherence to the Logan Act was raised after a new book by the journalist Bob Woodward alleged the current Republican nominee has repeatedly spoken with Putin since leaving office in early 2021.
Trump’s campaign has broadly denied claims made in the book. However, Trump has often boasted about his close relationship with Putin and has pressured Republicans to block military aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
“This would seem to be a violation of the Logan Act. Exactly what Trump falsely accused John Kerry of. Another apparent Trump crime,” Rice wrote Tuesday on the social platform X.
Rice was referring to Trump’s public pressure campaign to prosecute Kerry, a former secretary of state, over private meetings with Iranian officials during the Trump administration to urge Tehran to stay in the Iran Nuclear Deal, brokered by the Obama administration. Trump later pulled the U.S. from the agreement.