Democrats in the media (but I repeat myself) have a new talking point that involves treason -- the “t” word. It is not a word that should be thrown around lightly.

Treason is a word with a very special meaning. According to Merriam-Webster: “An overt act to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or sovereign’s family.”

I have some personal experience in the unintentional misuse of the word. In the first draft of my 2019 article titled “Worse than Watergate” I accused members of the Obama administration, including Susan Rice, Samantha Power, James Clapper, Sally Yates, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, and others of committing the “t” word, but an astute editor for American Thinker pushed back on the article and suggested my accusation be changed to sedition instead. Sedition is the incitement of discontent or rebellion against the government, while treason means taking action to overthrow the government, and usually involves conspiring with a foreign power in the process.

The crime of treason still carries the death penalty. It is a very, very serious offense. Treason is the only crime mentioned by name in the U.S. Constitution. Article III, Section 3 reads: “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.”

Recently, talk show host Tucker Carlson and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard have been publicly accused of treason, or coming close to treason, by the likes of prominent legal scholar Laurence Tribe (who certainly should know better), Sen. Mitt Romney (who isn’t expected to know much), ousted Democrat pol Claire McCaskill, talk show host Keith Olbermann (both village idiots), and the harpies at The View, who know absolutely nothing and revel in their own ignorance, on national television. 

Did Carlson conspire to sell state secrets to the Russians? No. Has Lt. Col. Gabbard been attempting a coup of the civilian government using the U.S. military? Don’t make me laugh. Of course not. So, what did they do that was so horrible?

Well, Carlson interviewed Gabbard on his show, and the conversation turned to biological research labs in Ukraine currently at risk due to the Russian invasion. Did Carlson invent the story of Ukrainian labs at risk due to the war? Once again, no. Did Gabbard? Of course not.

This all started when Sen. Marco Rubio asked what sounded like a simple question of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland while she was under oath in a committee meeting: “Does Ukraine have chemical or biological weapons?”

This meeting was not top secret. Heck, it was broadcast on C-SPAN.

Nuland answered, “Ukraine has biological research facilities, which in fact we are now concerned Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of. So, we are working with the Ukrainians to help prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces, should they approach.”

Rubio’s follow-up question served a specific purpose: “I’m sure you’re aware that Russian propaganda groups are already putting out all kinds of information about how they’ve uncovered a plot by Ukrainians to release biological weapons in the country with NATO’s coordination. If there is a biological or chemical weapon incident or attack inside of Ukraine, is there any doubt in your mind that 100 percent the Russians would be behind it?” 

Nuland quickly replied, “There is no doubt in my mind Senator, and it is classic Russian technique to put the blame on the other guy what they are planning to do themselves.”

So, let me get this straight—when Rubio and Nuland talk about Ukrainian biolabs on television, everything is copacetic. No problems whatsoever. But Tucker Carlson and Tulsi Gabbard repeat what they heard on C-SPAN, and they’re committing treason?

Here’s exactly what Tulsi Gabbard said that created such an uproar:

Here are the undeniable facts. There are 25 to 30 US-funded biolabs in Ukraine. According to the US government, these biolabs are conducting research on dangerous pathogens. Ukraine is in an active war zone with widespread bombing, artillery, and shelling, and these facilities, even in the best of circumstances, could easily be compromised and release these deadly pathogens. Like COVID, these pathogens know no borders. If they are inadvertently or purposefully breached or compromised, they will quickly spread throughout Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world causing untold suffering and death. So, in order to protect the American people, the people of Europe, the people around the world, these labs need to be shut down immediately and the pathogens they hold need to be destroyed. Instead of trying to cover this up, the Biden-Harris administration needs to work with Russia, Ukraine, NATO, the UN to immediately implement a ceasefire for all military action in the vicinity of these labs until they’re secured, and these pathogens are destroyed. In addition to all this, the US funds around 300 biolabs around the world who are engaging in dangerous research including gain-of-function similar to the lab in Wuhan where COVID-19 may have originated. After realizing how dangerous and vulnerable these labs are, they should have all been shut down two years ago. But they haven’t.

Now, this is not a partisan political issue. The administration and Congress need to act now for the health and well-being of every American and every person on this planet.

For that, Mitt Romney called Gabbard a “treasonous liar.”

Specifically, what did she lie about, Mitt?

Remember, we can all watch Rubio and Nuland on C-SPAN. Keith Olbermann described Gabbard as “an active Russian disinformation campaign.” What broke you, Keith? I still remember when you and Dan Patrick were my two favorite ESPN sportscasters. Constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe tweeted: 

“Led by Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson, the GOP’s Trump wing appears to be throwing its weight behind Putin. If Putin opts to wage war on our ally, Ukraine, such “aid and comfort” to an “enemy” would appear to become “treason” as defined by Article III of the U.S. Constitution.”

No, it doesn’t. Tribe later deleted the tweet and claimed he didn’t mean to the word treason to be taken literally, even though he cited the Constitution while making the point, kind of suggesting he did mean it to be taken literally. Tribe finally deleted his clarification tweet as well, so it’s almost like it never happened.

As for the harpies at The View, well, they’re the harpies at The View. Who cares what they think? Not very many people, it seems.

Even so, the echo chamber is reverberating with the demand for the heads of Tucker Carlson and Tulsi Gabbard, for the high crimes of speaking out against the administration of Sleepy Joe.

Of that, Tucker and Tulsi are guilty, but that isn’t treason. That’s common sense.

John Leonard is a freelance writer and author of several detective novels including Coastal Empire and Hunter’s Omen, both recently re-edited and re-released. He may be contacted via his website at southernprose.com.

Image: Fox News video screen shot, via YouTube