Ex-prosecutor flags Trump's 'confession to a federal crime' on debate stage

Former President Donald Trump may have inadvertently confessed to a federal crime during his "trainwreck" debate against Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday night, according to legal experts.

Trump's comment that he would put an end to the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars "even before becoming president" shocked former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance, she admitted on X.

"Saying 'if I'm president elect I'll get it done (peace in Israel) before I'm even inaugurated' is a confession to a federal crime under the Logan Act," Vance wrote.

Gary Marcus, a professor emeritus at New York University, where the former president's son is attending, agreed.

"Trump just promised to violate the Logan Act, on national television," he wrote Tuesday night.

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The Logan Act is a centuries-old law that bans U.S. citizens from engaging in unauthorized diplomacy to “influence the measures or conduct” of a foreign government.

The act bears the name of Republican politician George Logan, who met with French ministers in France during former President John Adams' administration and spurred a Federalist-dominated Congress to criminalize any such future trips, according to a 2018 Congressional Research Service report.

There have been only two Logan Act indictments since its enactment in the late 18th century and neither led to a conviction.

This is not the first time a Trump controversy has raised Logan Act concerns.

In 2018, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's resigned over reports that he discussed Russia sanctions with a Russian official before Trump took office.

The act appeared in the news again this August amid reports Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to accept a ceasefire because it could give a boost to Harris' campaign.

That same month, CNN reported that more than 40,000 Palestinians had been killed and nearly 100,000 wounded in the conflict.