Traitor?

Words have meaning. People sometimes forget that when they are excited or angry and can use words they wouldn't ordinarily use. People sometimes ask themselves "Did I really say that? Did I really mean that?" The emotions fade but the words remain.

The word this week was treason.

“Anyone that commits treason should be shot,” Al Baldasaro, an adviser to the Trump campaign for veterans issues, told The Daily Beast. “I believe Hillary Clinton committed treason. She put people in danger. When people take confidential material off a server, you’re sharing information with the enemy. That’s treason.”

Wow! Treason.

"Treason against the United States shall consist only of levying war against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, or giving aid and comfort to them."

Treason against the King was used so loosely by the British that our Forefathers laid out a very specific definition of the crime. Furthermore, they stipulated that no one could be convicted of treason without two witnesses of the treasonous act.

The act of calling your political enemies traitors has a very long history, which is probably why the charge is once again being thrown around. One should keep in mind, however, that once the standards of proof are lowered for a crime it becomes far easier to be charged for it yourself.

Added 7/20/16 18:48:50

The Secret Service is officially investigating Al Baldasaro, an adviser to the Donald Trump campaign for veterans issues, who called for Hillary Clinton’s execution for “treason.”“The U.S. Secret Service is aware of this matter and will conduct the appropriate investigation,” spokesman Robert Hoback told The Daily Beast on Wednesday afternoon.“Anyone that commits treason should be shot,” Baldasaro told The Daily Beast earlier in the day. “I believe Hillary Clinton committed treason. She put people in danger. When people take confidential material off a server, you’re sharing information with the enemy. That’s treason.”Baldasaro was expanding on a comment he made on Tuesday, when he called for Clinton to be “put in the firing line” over her mishandling of classified emails.The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.—Asawin Suebsaeng