Ken Martin called Trump ‘a traitor to our nation’ who should be ‘put on trial for treason’
One of the frontrunners to lead the Democratic National Committee once called for Donald Trump to be put on trial for treason and accused the Republican of causing the deaths of American soldiers, all based on an unfounded allegation that even the Biden administration disputed.
Ken Martin, the chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, cited an unconfirmed June 2020 report that Trump ignored intelligence showing Russia paid the Taliban bounties to attack Americans in Afghanistan.
“[Donald Trump] should be immediately impeached and then put on trial for treason,” Martin wrote on June 29, 2020, citing an anonymously sourced news story. “His actions led to the deaths of American soldiers. He is a traitor to our nation and all those who have served.”
Treason, defined by the Constitution as providing “aid and comfort” to America’s enemies, carries a sentence ranging from a minimum of five years in prison to the death penalty.
But the explosive report, which spurred breathless media coverage, was based on flimsy intelligence that military officials in both the Trump and Biden administrations have been unable to verify. “It just has not been proved to a level of certainty that satisfies me,” Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said in September 2020. In 2021, the Biden CIA said it had “low to moderate confidence” in the claim that Russian spies “sought to encourage” Taliban attacks on U.S. military personnel.
Trump administration officials have said, in contrast to some early reports and Martin’s treason claim, that Trump was not told about the intelligence because there was not enough proof that Russia was paying the Taliban.
Martin’s explosive charge could provide fodder to a Republican base that has been rejuvenated by Trump’s resounding win in November.
Martin has emerged as one of the favorites in the race. His strongest opponent is Wisconsin Democratic Party chairman Ben Wikler, a progressive favorite who has embraced the anti-Israel faction of the party. Martin has the support of more than 100 Democratic delegates. New York state senator James Skoufis recently dropped out of the race and endorsed Martin, who has led the Minnesota party since 2011.
The race has taken a combative turn in recent weeks, with Martin and Wikler squaring off over the party’s relationship with its billionaire megadonors. Martin has taken jabs at Wikler over his close ties to Reid Hoffman, the billionaire entrepreneur linked to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
For his part, Martin has said he welcomes support from wealthy donors, though only from those he deems to be “good billionaires.”
“There are a lot of good billionaires out there that have been with Democrats, who share our values, and we will take their money,” Martin said last week. “But we’re not taking money from those bad billionaires.”
The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party did not respond to a request for comment.
This article was originally published at freebeacon.com
