Did Donald Trump break ‘Logan Act?’ What we know

Questions have been raised as to whether Donald Trump committed a crime by hosting a meeting with a foreign leader at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with Trump on Thursday for what he described as a “peace mission” amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The meeting led to suggestions that the former president may have violated the Logan Act, legislation that makes it illegal for American citizens to negotiate with foreign governments in dispute with the United States without prior approval.

Only two people have ever been charged with violating the act that was introduced in 1799—one in 1803 and the other in 1852. Neither individual was prosecuted.

Some Trump critics have now asked whether the meeting between Trump and Orbán, as well as a previous meeting between the pair in Florida in March, could constitute a violation of the Logan Act.

Jerrad Christian, a Democrat running for Ohio’s House District 12, posted on X, formerly Twitter: “How have we not gone all Logan Act (18 U.S.C. § 953) on Trump?

“It criminalizes unauthorized American citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. Trump meeting with Orbán is a reflection of how little respect Trump has for Americans.”

Attorney Ethan Bearman added: “I’m old enough to remember when then President Trump said John Kerry should be prosecuted for violating the Logan Act for speaking with Iran. Trump is not President, he has no immunity.”

Former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren suggested that even though the meeting could have been “possibly illegal,” it is unlikely the Logan Act will be used against the former president.

“On foreign policy, it’s critical that America speaks with one voice,” Warren told Newsweek. “The Logan Act prohibits individuals taking diplomacy into their own hands or undermining the government’s official policy. Only two people have ever been charged for Logan Act violations, and Trump won’t be the third but Trump using his camaraderie with U.S. adversaries like Orbán to weaken our foreign policy is possibly illegal and certainly un-American.”

It is unclear what precisely the pair discussed during their meeting at Mar-a-Lago.

As reported by The Guardian‘s Andrew Roth, Trump’s team denied that he asked Orbán to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin or Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky on his behalf.

“But one good reason to say that is it could be considered a violation of the Logan Act, a rarely enforced statute that prevents private individuals from conducting US foreign policy,” Roth posted on X.

Trump’s legal team has been contacted for comment via email.

During an interview on Hungarian TV, Orbán said Trump told him that the Republican would not “give a single penny” to Ukraine if he returned to the White House in order to help end the war.

While sharing a clip of Orban’s remarks, Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Laurie Garrett posted: “What Orbán is saying here implicates Trump in violation of the Logan Act.”

Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, traveled to Budapest to meet with Orbán in June, also raising concerns regarding the Logan Act.

Former federal prosecutor Michael McAuliffe previously told Newsweek the Logan Act is a “largely untested” prohibition against private U.S. citizens attempting to influence American foreign policy, which in all likelihood will not be used to charge Trump or his family.

“While Donald Trump Jr.’s action in meeting with Orbán and addressing political and economic issues at several conferences, may technically implicate the Logan Act, actual enforcement is highly unlikely,” McAuliffe said.

“For opponents of Trump, his son’s contacts with foreign strongmen simply is more fodder for the argument that Trump is planning, if elected, to emulate anti-democratic, authoritarian leaders in other regions of the world,” he said. “For Trump supporters, the foreign leader contacts show the Trump family is a geopolitical force.”