Logan Act
The Logan Act of 1799 prohibits unauthorized US citizens from conducting private diplomacy with foreign governments in matters of dispute with the United States. It was born from concern about private citizens undermining official US foreign policy. Despite being on the books for over 225 years, the Act has never resulted in a successful prosecution — but it has been invoked in major political controversies, most prominently the Flynn/Russia investigation during the 2016-17 transition period.
Primary Text
18 U.S.C. § 953“Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”
What It Means
The Logan Act was passed in January 1799 and is named after Dr. George Logan, a Pennsylvania Quaker and state senator who traveled to France without government authorization during the Quasi-War to negotiate privately with French officials. Congress responded by criminalizing such unauthorized private diplomacy. The law's core prohibition: no US citizen may, without government authority, correspond or conduct business with a foreign government with the intent to influence that government's conduct in any dispute or controversy with the United States. The penalty is up to three years in prison.
In 225 years of existence, the Logan Act has produced only two indictments — both in the 19th century, neither resulting in conviction. The Act has been repeatedly criticized as unconstitutional under the First Amendment (diplomatic communication as protected speech) and as unconstitutionally vague. The Department of Justice has consistently declined to prosecute under it, viewing prosecution as both practically difficult and constitutionally risky. Most legal scholars consider the Act a constitutional relic that cannot be enforced in its current form against modern political speech.
Despite its near-total non-enforcement, the Logan Act became politically significant during the 2016-17 presidential transition when FBI investigators considered whether incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak — discussing US sanctions — violated the Act. The Obama White House discussed using the Logan Act as grounds to question Flynn about his contacts. Ultimately, Flynn was not charged under the Logan Act but was charged with making false statements to the FBI about the calls — a charge to which he initially pleaded guilty before the case became caught up in extensive legal proceedings.
Real-World Application
Flynn-Kislyak Calls (2016–2017): Michael Flynn's pre-inauguration conversations with Russian Ambassador Kislyak, in which the two discussed Obama-era sanctions, were reviewed for possible Logan Act violations. The case exposed the Act's fundamental paradox: it arguably criminalizes exactly the kind of transition-period diplomatic contact that presidents-elect have conducted for decades. The episode reignited debate about whether the Act should be repealed, reformed, or allowed to remain as a theoretical legal deterrent against truly rogue private diplomacy.
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