Don't wait 48 years to prove Trump's treason

"My God, I would never do anything to encourage South Viet Nam not to come to the table."

Thirty-nine years after Richard Nixon proclaimed his innocence in 1977, we now know he did exactly that nine years earlier to help win the 1968 election by working to delay the Vietnam Peace Talks till after he was elected. Recently discovered notes of his top aide, H.R. Haldeman show Nixon directed him to utilize Madamn Anna Chennault, WWII wife of General Claire Channault, to back channel Nixon instructions to Vietnam President Thieu on getting a better deal from Nixon than Hubert Humphrey. President Johnson uncovered the plot but couldn't go public since he didn't have the smoking gun tying Nixon to the plot.

Today, we have smoke, but no gun tying Donald Trump to Russian hacking of Democratic information used to damage the Clinton campaign. After vehemently denying Russia had anything to do with the hack, Trump swallowed the irrefutable intelligence reports and sputtered 'Yes, they did.'

But Trump refuses to even answer the question whether anyone connected with his campaign was in on the shenannigans. And of course, no such evidence has emerged. But given the secrecy of Trump's extensive ties to Russian business and political leaders, the smoke is thick enough to cut with a machete.   

Nixon's treason rests on laws against a private citizen doing anything to 'defeat the measure of the United States.' We don't know if Nixon's treason sealed his victory. Nor do we know if South Vietnam scuttled peace talks with Johnson to aide Nixon. But we do know that another 28,000 US boys died while Nixon spent his entire truncated presidency grasping for a face saving peace treaty that may have been within reach of Johnson in 1968. 

Let's hope it doesn't take another 48 years to determine if Trump committed similar treason just a few months ago.