--- title: Who Was George Logan? What to Know About the Logan Act description: Recent events in Washington have prompted some to revisit the 18th-century tale of George Logan. canonical: https://time.com/4672144/george-logan-michael-flynn/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-15T20:58:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T12:09:48.000Z article:section: History og:title: Who Was George Logan? og:description: Recent events in Washington have prompted some to revisit the 18th-century tale of George Logan og:url: https://time.com/4672144/george-logan-michael-flynn/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1483b745be561d17/6988ba79a988caa2b96bb057/george-logan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1759 og:image:height: 989 og:image:alt: george-logan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Who Was George Logan? twitter:description: Recent events in Washington have prompted some to revisit the 18th-century tale of George Logan twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1483b745be561d17/6988ba79a988caa2b96bb057/george-logan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 00:36 video:published: 2019-05-09 section: politics topics: Logan Act, John Kerry, Iran, presidential statements, foreign diplomacy, prosecution, political accusations genre: press conference, news clip tones: accusatory, confident, combative, dismissive emotions: anger (medium), certainty (high), contempt (medium) sentiment: negative audience: political news readers, policy observers, general news audiences people: Donald Trump, John Kerry content_suitability: politics [00:00-00:36] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # There's a Law That Keeps U.S. Citizens From Negotiating With Foreign Powers. Here's What to Know About the Logan Act > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=c50838a0-2b60-453f-885a-060f7fd7bb09&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=c50838a0-2b60-453f-885a-060f7fd7bb09&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Says John Kerry Violated the Logan Act [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Says John Kerry Violated the Logan Act](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/n8eIh7g2.m3u8) (0:36)  _Published 2019-05-09. The President said at a press conference that he believes Kerry has violated the Logan Act._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary President Trump says at a press conference that John Kerry has violated the Logan Act by speaking with Iran and telling them what to do. He says Kerry should be prosecuted and compares the treatment to how Democrats would be treated if the roles were reversed. He states that Kerry has held many meetings and phone calls with Iran. ## Key points - Trump says he would like Iran to call him directly, noting that John Kerry speaks with Iran often. (00:00) - Trump claims Kerry tells Iran not to call him, which he describes as a violation of the Logan Act. (00:00) - Trump says Kerry should be prosecuted under the Logan Act. (00:00) - Trump says his people do not want to take action on this, claiming such actions are something only Democrats do. (00:00) - Trump argues that if the situation were reversed, Democrats would prosecute a Republican under the Logan Act. (00:00) - Trump claims Kerry has had many meetings and phone calls with Iran and is telling them what to do. (00:29) - Trump concludes that Kerry's conduct is a total violation of the Logan Act. (00:32) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:29] Trump's Claims About Kerry and Iran. Trump says Kerry talks with Iran, tells them not to call the president, and should be prosecuted under the Logan Act. - [00:29 to 00:36] Alleged Meetings and Logan Act Violation. Trump asserts Kerry has held many meetings and calls with Iran and that this is a total violation of the Logan Act. ## Key quotes - [00:00] President Trump: "John Kerry tells them not to call. That's a violation of the Logan Act." - [00:00] President Trump: "And frankly, he should be prosecuted on that." - [00:00] President Trump: "But my people don't want to do anything that's only the Democrats do that kind of stuff." - [00:29] President Trump: "He's talking to Iran and has been has many meetings and" - [00:32] President Trump: "That is a total violation of the Logan Act." ## Questions this video answers - What does President Trump say John Kerry has done with Iran? [00:00] - Why does President Trump believe John Kerry violated the Logan Act? [00:00] - Does President Trump think John Kerry should face prosecution? [00:00] - How does President Trump say Democrats would treat a Republican in the same situation? [00:00] - What does President Trump say he wants from Iran? [00:00] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-00:36]: Partisan political accusations against a named former official, including a call for prosecution.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Updated: Jan 24, 2024 12:09 PM UTCPublished: Feb 15, 2017 8:58 PM UTC  The National Library of Medicine  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Updated: Jan 24, 2024 12:09 PM UTCPublished: Feb 15, 2017 8:58 PM UTC As tensions between the U.S. and Iran increase, President Trump on Thursday went so far as to accuse former Secretary of State John Kerry of talking to Iranian officials behind his back. The President said at a press conference that he believes Kerry has violated the Logan Act — even though Kerry’s [spokesperson](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/us/politics/trump-barr-mueller-congress.html) has said that the former diplomat hasn’t talked to Iran officials at all since the U.S. [pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal](http://time.com/5586246/iran-nuclear-deal-anniversary/) last year. The Logan Act, once an obscure law, has been on [the minds](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/politics/logan-act-flynn.html) of Washington [observers](http://www.npr.org/2017/02/14/515279336/what-is-the-logan-act-and-why-does-it-matter) since Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn [resigned](http://time.com/4670930/white-house-president-trump-asked-for-flynns-resignation/) on Feb. 13, 2017, after admitting to speaking with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. about sanctions. The law prohibits unauthorized U.S. citizens — which Flynn was at the time — from speaking to foreign governments about that country’s “disputes or controversies with the United States.” And the history behind the law sheds light on why it is against the law for individuals to try to influence foreign relations. The story goes back to the late 18th century, when the French Revolution was in full swing. France and Britain were fighting, and the new nation of the United States was divided about its allegiances. France thought American ratification of [Jay’s Treaty](https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/jay-treaty) — an unpopular peace accord with Britain — violated the past treaties between France and the U.S. Within the American government, Democratic-Republicans like Thomas Jefferson tended to favor supporting France, which had supported the American Revolution. Meanwhile, Federalists like Alexander Hamilton and John Adams argued strongly against getting involved. After the diplomatic failure known as the [XYZ Affair](https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/xyz) — a 1797 episode in which French treatment of U.S. envoys shocked the nation, nearly leading to war between the U.S. and France — George Logan, a Pennsylvania state legislator and farmer from a prominent Philadelphia family, decided to step in. In 1947, after former Vice President Henry Wallace’s “gabbiness” on a trip abroad raised eyebrows, TIME[ took a look back](http://time.com/vault/issue/1947-04-21/page/26/) at what Logan did: --- > “” --- In other words, even though his mission was relatively successful at achieving his own personal goals, his goals were not the same ones shared by the government — and, as an individual, even a powerful one who was friends with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, he couldn’t have known what was going on behind the scenes. Logan’s intervention showed those in power in 1799 that they had to prevent citizens, no matter who, from taking foreign relations into their own hands. “He had a great friendship with Thomas Jefferson and shared a lot of his views, so when he sees efforts by Federalists fail through the [XYZ Affair](https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/xyz), he decides to try and solve this problem, to smooth things over, knowing he had connections in France,” says Dennis S. Pickeral, Executive Director of Stenton, Logan’s historic Philadelphia home. “He does diffuse a lot of the tension, but enrages Federalists, who push through that law.” Though some have argued that the Logan Act raises issues in the way it constrains citizens’ freedom of speech and right to travel, the concept behind it has stood the test of centuries. “The Logan Act wanted one President at a time,” says Richard Painter, who was chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush and now teaches at the University of Minnesota Law School. “There is one foreign policy conducted by the Secretary of State, whom the President picks and the U.S. Senate confirms.” There have been no prosecutions under the act since the second President John Adams signed it into law in 1799, according to a March 2015 Congressional Research Report. But, says Robert Roberts, author of _White House Ethics: The History of the Politics of Conflict of Interest Regulation_, that doesn’t mean the law is pointless. People who are questioned about their activities in ways that may or may not involve the Logan Act can end up in violation of the False Statements Act, for example. “In other words, it is highly unlikely anyone will be prosecuted for violations of the Logan Act,” Roberts says. “It is much more likely someone will be prosecuted for lying to the FBI.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4672144/george-logan-michael-flynn/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4672144/george-logan-michael-flynn/"},"headline":"There's a Law That Keeps U.S. Citizens From Negotiating With Foreign Powers. 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