Last edited Tue Mar 10, 2015, 04:18 PM - Edit history (1)

the original act was aimed at private citizens.

chamber and be taught some manners

it doesn't help with the question in the OP.

taught that.

Now who does it and in what manner, not up to me.

George McGovern speaking to Cuban authorities in 1975 pretty much set the precedent.

how it relates, if at all, to this issue.

Explain what McGovern did, what his position in our government was at the time, whether or not it was an official visit.

BTW, George McGovern is or was a great American and patriot and human being.

Let's remind everyone here who McGovern was

But here's everything about that in the wiki article on The Logan Act. According to this, there is nothing in the act to restrict members of Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials.

However, what the 47 Republican Senators did was abhorrent, and really just a "fuck you" to Obama's negotiations. But, just as it's not treason, it may also not violate the Logan Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Act

In 1975, Senators John Sparkman and George McGovern were accused of violating the Logan Act when they traveled to Cuba and met with officials there. In considering that case, the U.S. Department of State concluded:

The clear intent of this provision [Logan Act] is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing in section 953 [Logan Act], however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties under the Constitution. In the case of Senators McGovern and Sparkman the executive branch, although it did not in any way encourage the Senators to go to Cuba , was fully informed of the nature and purpose of their visit, and had validated their passports for travel to that country.

Senator McGovern’s report of his discussions with Cuban officials states: "I made it clear that I had no authority to negotiate on behalf of the United States — that I had come to listen and learn...." (Cuban Realities: May 1975, 94th Cong., 1st Sess., August 1975). Senator Sparkman’s contacts with Cuban officials were conducted on a similar basis. The specific issues raised by the Senators (e.g., the Southern Airways case; Luis Tiant’s desire to have his parents visit the United States) would, in any event, appear to fall within the second paragraph of Section 953.

Accordingly, the Department does not consider the activities of Senators Sparkman and McGovern to be inconsistent with the stipulations of Section 953.[7]

was bad judgment on his part given protocol and so on but VASTLY different from this

The OP asked if congress-critters were considered "unauthorized Americans" under the Logan Act. The precedent set in 1975 says no, they are authorized.

What they're doing is repugnant and dangerous, but I think it's huge stretch to say they're covered by the Logan Act.

The Logan Act might apply here but it is just never been enforced to any degree- much less against elected officials.
link to her thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026340834

The Logan Act is mostly unchanged but its constitutionality has never been tested

I think this would be a good case to test it except for the current court.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Act
There has been little judicial discussion of the constitutionality of the Logan Act.

In United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. (1936), however, Justice Sutherland wrote in the majority opinion: "he President alone has the power to speak or listen as a representative of the nation. He makes treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate; but he alone negotiates. Into the field of negotiation the Senate cannot intrude, and Congress itself is powerless to invade it." Sutherland also notes in his opinion the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations report to the Senate of February 15, 1816:

The President is the constitutional representative of the United States with regard to foreign nations. He manages our concerns with foreign nations, and must necessarily be most competent to determine when, how, and upon what subjects negotiation may be urged with the greatest prospect of success. For his conduct, he is responsible to the Constitution.

The Charges were dropped at the time of the Louisiana Purchase.

Herbert Hoover was accused in 1941 for negotiating for food relief in Europe, but was never charged.

Nixon was accused, but from what I read, charging him would have revealed NSA spying on Vietnam, so he was never charged.

It has never been tested in the courts so charging the GOP47 would reach there in quick time.

As pleasing as it would be here, I think it would likely paralyze the government. Republicans would accuse the President of purging the Senate with illegal charges and would quite likely impeach him, though they don't have the votes to make it stick. Worse, the Conservative Media would have a feeding frenzy through the election in 2016.

and it was for some Joe Schmoe from Kentucky.

This is what the Department of State has said about the Logan Act following a visit by George McGovern and others to meet with Cuban officials in Havana in 1975:

"The clear intent of this provision is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing in section 953, however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties under the Constitution."

While the decision to pursue a Logan Act claim would be up to the DoJ, the view of the State Department is going to carry extraordinary weight. In all likelihood, it was this longstanding position of State that led the Repubs to back down from their original threats to go after the ten Democratic members of Congress who signed the famous (at least to those of us old enough to remember it) "Dear Comandante" letter to Daniel Ortega in 1984. And its why no prosecution will be sought with respect to the gang of 47.