Though it’s been nearly 10 months since noted disaster artist Donald Trump was voted out of the White House and replaced by Joe Biden, the former president seems to have forgotten the “former” part of his title.
Earlier today, as political reporter David Freedlander shared, Trump issued a statement in which he said that “Today, my Envoy Ambassador Ric Grenell visited the Kosovo-Serbia border” in order to assist the two nations with working toward peace.
The former president has an envoy ambassador and is conducting foreign policy pic.twitter.com/m60Wkl9gU1
— David Freedlander (@freedlander) November 11, 2021
Grenell, who did in fact previously serve as Trump’s Special Presidential Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace Negotiations as well as his Acting Director of National Intelligence, also tweeted about his visit to the Kosovo-Serbia border, where he reportedly held a press conference:
https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1458781246486634500
And just what did Grenell say at that press conference? According to Politico correspondent Meridith McGraw: “I come because we are frustrated.”
Last year Serbia & Kosovo signed a normalization agreement & Grenell, who served as Trump’s special envoy, has been critical of Biden on the Balkans
Grenell – who is no longer in gov but Trump called his “Envoy Amb”- said at a presser this AM “I come because we are frustrated” pic.twitter.com/cxHJXHC5ST
— Meridith McGraw (@meridithmcgraw) November 11, 2021
According to Trump’s statement, he’s annoyed because:
“The great people of Serbia and Kosovo have overcome tremendous obstacles in their pursuit of economic normalization. The agreements my administration brokered are historic and should not be abandoned, many lives are at stake.”
What makes all of this so much more bizarre is that, just like Trump, Grenell lost his job when Trump was pushed out of office—and all the benefits and protections that come with it. Yet neither one of them seems to have a problem with openly and very publicly sharing exactly what they’re doing right now, which some people claim is running a shadow government out of Mar-a-Lago.
Trump and Grenell appear to be violating the Logan Act. Also, Trump is running his own shadow government. https://t.co/nydPmuaQ1o
— Bob Cesca (@bobcesca_go) November 11, 2021
At a minimum, Trump and Grenell appear to be attempting to conduct foreign policy, which is a clear violation of the Logan Act, which states:
“Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”
Envoy Ambassador is just above Platinum Tier member
But, yes, a former president is dispatching former appointees to foreign countries to engage in foreign policy. https://t.co/aZdymVWoVm
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) November 11, 2021
Whether anything will come of Trump’s gross violation of federal law is anyone’s guess. But if the twice-impeached former president’s history of upending every rule put in place to protect our democracy with no repercussions is any indication, probably not.