Treason

     Somebody could argue that a foreign power, which had attempted to manipulate free elections in this country, is not an enemy, but that would be a laughable argument. Moreover, until very recently, the United States and the Russian Federation were involved in a proxy war in Syria. No matter what white-gloved diplomacy is ongoing, there has been a "hot war" in Syria between the two nations.

     Russian mercenaries attacked a U.S. base in Deir Ezzor. Hundreds of the Russian mercenaries, who have been directly connected to Putin in a couple of ways, were killed by American air strikes. America also bombed a Syrian airbase with 50 Tomahawk missiles in April 2017 with damage to Russian planes. To counter this move, Putin sent a warship to bolster Assad's air defense capabilities against the United States.

     The Russian Federation supported Assad, while the United States supported certain rebel factions which sought to oust Assad. Russia manipulated the American election, and one cannot forget Putin's big show about nuking Florida:

     I have seen so-called treason experts cite "Treason Law" for the proposition that the United States must be at war with a country before a charge of treason can be levied. I have attempted to find this treason law, and it doesn't exist. This is likely due to the fact that there have been so few Treason charges brought.     

     The charge of Treason levied on Adam Gadahn in 2006 seems the most analogous. Al Qaeda was an obvious enemy of the United States, yet there was no formal Declaration of War against it, and it is not, in fact, a country. The difference between Al Qaeda on 9/11 and Russia in 2016 is that the former used airplanes to attack the United States; Russia used the internet and complicit, treasonous Republicans. 

Other Evidence of Treason

     In April 2016, Defendant presents a speech in which he promises “an easing of tensions and improved relations with Russia.” Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak is in the audience. 

     In July 2016, Defendant and Carter Page met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the Republican National Convention immediately before the party platform was changed from pro-Ukraine to pro-Russian Federation. 

     In January 2017, the Trump administration began secretly to ease or eliminate sanctions against Russia. Chief Investigative Reporter, Michael Isikoff broke the story:

In the early weeks of the Trump administration, former Obama administration officials and State Department staffers fought an intense, behind-the-scenes battle to head off efforts by incoming officials to normalize relations with Russia, according to multiple sources familiar with the events.

Unknown to the public at the time, top Trump administration officials, almost as soon as they took office, tasked State Department staffers with developing proposals for the lifting of economic sanctions, the return of diplomatic compounds and other steps to relieve tensions with Moscow.

These efforts to relax or remove punitive measures imposed by President Obama in retaliation for Russia’s intervention in Ukraine and meddling in the 2016 election alarmed some State Department officials, who immediately began lobbying congressional leaders to quickly pass legislation to block the move, the sources said.

     In July 2017, Defendant announced that the United States would no longer assist Syrian rebels in their efforts to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. 

Miscellanea 

     There is a statute that codifies the crime of Treason as set out in the Constitution. It tracks the language and sets punishment at a very costly level. A convicted traitor

shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years   and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.

     Although there is nothing but opinion that requires the House of Representatives to refrain from including a Treason count in their Articles of Impeachment, this does not mean that Trump cannot raise this split of opinion as some kind of affirmative defense at the trial. Moreover, even if Trump's attorneys succeeded in that regard, it could still be argued that application of the Treason Clause to this particular circumstance is "a reasonable extension of existing law."

     The best argument that can be made to exclude Russia from our enemies list is that the two countries have cooperated together on a number of endeavors, including sending astronauts to the International Space Station. However, the fact remains that lives have been lost in a war in Syria that continues.

     Finally, it would be the height of arrogance for Trump to claim that Russia is not an enemy of the United States because he has been the one bending over backwards for Putin. That would be remindful of the child who killed his parents and then begged for mercy because he was an orphan.