Legal Definitions - treason

Treason refers to the most serious act of disloyalty a person can commit against their own country. It involves betraying the nation by either actively fighting against its government or by providing significant help to its enemies.

In the United States, the Constitution specifically defines treason in two main ways:

• Levying War: This means directly engaging in armed conflict against the United States.
• Adhering to Enemies, Giving them Aid and Comfort: This involves siding with a foreign power that is hostile to the U.S. and providing them with substantial assistance, such as intelligence, resources, or other forms of support.

Because treason is such a grave offense, the Constitution requires a very high standard for conviction: either the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act of treason, or a confession made in open court.

Examples of Treason:

• Imagine a high-ranking military officer, during a declared war, secretly transmitting classified battle plans and troop movements to the opposing enemy forces. This act directly provides crucial assistance to the nation's adversaries, putting the country's military personnel and national security at severe risk. This would be an example of adhering to enemies, giving them aid and comfort, as the officer is actively assisting a hostile power against their own country.

• Consider a scenario where a group of citizens, unhappy with the current government, organizes and arms themselves into a private militia. They then launch a coordinated, violent attack on a federal building with the explicit goal of seizing control and overthrowing the existing constitutional government. This direct armed rebellion against the state constitutes levying war against the United States.

• Suppose a scientist working on advanced defense technology for the government is approached by agents of a foreign nation known to be hostile to the U.S. The scientist then deliberately shares sensitive blueprints and research data for a new missile defense system with these foreign agents, knowing it will be used to undermine U.S. security. This act of providing critical technological intelligence to an adversary would be considered giving aid and comfort to an enemy, thereby committing treason.