Although she claims her visit to Syria actually helped President Bush and U.S. diplomacy, Speak of the House, Nancy Pelosi's, much-ballyhooed meeting with Syrian President may have violated federal law. In an April 6, 2007 article in the Wall Street Journal, former Acting Assistant Secretary of State (1984-5) and former ABA commitee on law and national security chairman, Robert F. Turner, writes that the Logan Act makes it a felony for any American, "without authority of the United States," to communicate with a foreign government in an effort to influence that government's behavior on any "disputes or controversies with the United States." Presumably, since Speaker Pelosi's visit was done against the administration's wishes, this would constitute a violation of the Logan Act.
For more on the Speaker's visit and its legality under the Logan Act, click here.
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