Thread by @MontyBoa99

@BeschlossDC The trial of Aaron Burr for treason demonstrates that Trump's Insurrection qualifies as treason.
Here's why:

a. In 1806, Burr recruited current & former US army and govt officials to engage in a scheme to seize all land west of the Allegheny and form a new nation.

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@BeschlossDC b. Some joined in his idea of forming a gov't for the region, w/out realizing he was planning secession. Upon that discovery, they warned Jefferson.

c. Burr planned to seize New Orleans as his capital. He assembled men, munitions, transport & depots on the Mississippi.

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@BeschlossDC d. Burr planned the invasion and annexation of Mexico as a second stage to the insurrection. He used the promise of its wealth to bribe collaborators.

e. Burr's insurrection was halted when militias captured his soldiers as they prepared to depart for New Orleans.

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@BeschlossDC f. Burr was tried for treason in 1807, even though he was not with the insurrectionists when they were caught.

g. Chief Justice John Marshall found that:

g.1. Insurrection constitutes levying war
g.2. Levying war vs the US is treason

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@BeschlossDC But Marshall instructed the jury to acquit, citing concerns that in those very fragile times with foreign influences at work and at war with each other, the court must strictly limit itself to established precedents, to avoid justifying future efforts to persecute leaders.

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@BeschlossDC Burr had enlisted foreign support, having negotiated protection from the British. He had prepared for a violent siege of a state capitol. He had threatened to "push Congress into the Potomac".

But he had not yet committed any violence.

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@BeschlossDC Although in British case law a precedent existed for convicting someone of insurrection by assembling a private army to attack gov't even if they had not committed an act of violence (Vaughan), Marshall established a new precedent by directing the jury to acquit Burr.

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@BeschlossDC In Trump's case, his private army of volunteers were armed, assembled at a specific time and directed at a specific target to achieve a specific goal against the government of the United States. They committed acts of violence, as he had intended.

Why?
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@BeschlossDC It was pointless for Trump merely to delay the certification of Biden's election. He needed to avert it.

He exhorted his supporters in Congress to obstruct the counting of swing state votes so that he would become the winner of the majority of the remainder.

That failed.

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@BeschlossDC Trump extorted VP Pence into rejecting the swing state votes.

He directed the mob at the Capitol to intimidate Congress, and specifically Pence's, capitulation.

When that failed, he exhorted the mob to treat Pence as a traitor, using the call for violence they understood.

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@BeschlossDC The evidence shows Trump:

- Chose the timing and location of his rally as a staging point to obstruct Congress's execution of the law
- Whipped the mob into a frenzy with the Big Lie of a fictitious 'crime' of which they were the 'victims'
- Directed the mob at the Capitol

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@BeschlossDC - Reveled in the violence, damage and mayhem the mob carried out, and the terror they inflicted Capitol staff and Congress
- Refused to engage in any meaningful attempt either to reinforce the defense or call off the attack, even when notified Pence was in danger

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@BeschlossDC This establishes that Trump met *all* of the conditions that Chief Justice Marshall considered essential to a conviction for treason:
- levying war, including an preparing an army, weapons, and a plan to attack the gov't violently
- committing an act of violence to that end

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@BeschlossDC In Marshall's view, that was enough.

Trump went further:

- He interfered with the peaceful transfer of power
- He undermined the duly-elected gov't
- He conspired to assassinate gov't officials
- He attempted a coup

Trump's actions exceed Marshall's criteria for treason.

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@BeschlossDC Extra (1).
For Chief Justice Marshall's ruling on United States v. Burr, and his citation of Lord Hale's definition of "levying of war", which is one of the forms of treason, see:
➡️law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projec…