WASHINGTON, DC- Logan Act- “...bars a citizen of the United States (1) ‘without authority of the United States’ (2) from ‘directly or indirectly commenc[ing] or carr[ying] on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government’ (3) ‘with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government…in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States.’”
The Logan Act was enacted by Congress in 1799 in response to Pennsylvania Republican Dr. George Logan sailing to France on an unofficial diplomatic mission, which then-President Adams did not authorize to negotiate a diplomatic resolution to a conflict between France and Britain. President Adams and his supporters accused Logan of acting with partisan intent, believing it was designed to undercut Adams and support Vice President Jefferson.
Despite being the law of the land for over 200 years, the Logan Act has never been prosecuted. Yet.
According to The Gateway Pundit, some legal experts and Republicans are accusing Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, of violating the Logan Act after he traveled to El Salvador on behalf of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal alien and member of the violent MS-13 gang, whom Van Hollen is demanding be returned to the U.S. after he was deported by the Trump administration.
You may recall that Democrats tripped over themselves when they accused former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn of violating the Logan Act when he had contact with Russian officials in the lead up to Trump’s 2017 inauguration, even though, as incoming National Security Adviser, he appeared to be within his rights to do so. This was all part of the Russia collusion hoax hatched under former President Barack Obama.
Last week, the American Accountability Foundation sent a letter to Senate leadership noting that Abrego Garcia has connections to MS-13, which Trump designated a foreign terrorist organization.
“Mr. Abrego-Garcia is essentially an enemy combatant in the ongoing invasion of the United States by transnational gangs,” AAF President Thomas Jones wrote to the heads of the Senate Ethics Committee and Majority Leader John Thune, outlined in a letter obtained by The New York Post.
“Despite the overwhelming evidence, Senator Van Hollen decided that he would use Senate funds [taxpayer money] to fly to El Salvador and advocate for an enemy of the United States,” the letter said.
The Post said it is unclear how much taxpayer money Van Hollen used to fund his fool’s errand. Abrego Garcia, whom Van Hollen refers to as a “married Maryland father,” entered the United States illegally in 2011.
AFF asked Thune to instruct the secretary of the Senate not to pay for the trip to El Salvador, and is asking for the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate Van Hollen for violating the Logan Act.
“Van Hollen was in El Salvador meeting with leaders of the Salvadorian government to attempt to secure Mr. Garcia’s release,” Jones wrote in the letter. “It is hard to imagine a more hostile intrusion into U.S. foreign policy than attempting to smuggle a foreign enemy combatant into the United States.”
Van Hollen had previously met with Abrego Garcia’s wife, who is an American citizen. Despite being portrayed by his wife as a loving husband and father, she sang a different tune in 2021 when she filed for a temporary restraining order after he allegedly “punched and scratched” her, “grabbed and bruised her,” and “ripped off” her shirt and shorts.
In court documents, the Trump administration accuses Abrego Garcia of being a ranking member of the violent MS-13 gang “by a proven and reliable source.” Last week, the Justice Department released a police report suggesting he was a member of MS-13.
According to documents documenting his apprehension, they allege he had “rolls of cash and drugs” on him when he was detained, and he was “arrested with two other members of MS-13.”
Van Hollen said following his trip to El Salvador that he “won’t stop trying. This is an unsustainable and unjust moment. So it cannot continue this way.
“I want to emphasize that President Trump and our Attorney General Pam Bondi and the vice president of the United States are lying when they say that Abrego Garcia has been charged with a crime or is part of MS-13,” Van Hollen said. “That is a lie.”
I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return. pic.twitter.com/U9y2gZpxCb
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) April 18, 2025
The White House slammed Van Hollen’s conduct, calling it “appalling” during a press event last week. That press event featured Patty Morin, whose daughter Rachel, a mother of five, was raped, beaten, and murdered by an illegal alien in 2023. The victim was a Maryland resident, and Van Hollen has yet to address her death or reach out to her family.
“To have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge or barely acknowledged my daughter and the brutal death that she endured, leaving her five children without a mother, to use my tax money to fly to El Salvador to bring back a person…I just don’t understand this,” Patty Morin said in her somber remarks.
This incident highlights where today’s Democrat Party appears to be. Taking the side of an illegal alien, criminal thug gang banger while ignoring a constituent who was brutally murdered by a criminal alien thug.
