![]() ![]() ![]() Aaron Burr was tried for treason after a failed conspiracy to set up his own political empire in the Mississippi Valley, but he eluded conviction because, as Chief Justice John Marshall reasoned, “war must actually be levied against the United States.” Burr’s plot hadn’t become more than a plot, and since “conspiracy is not treason,” Burr walked free.īut surely the oddest treason trial is one which never took place, that of Robert E. Two of these-Philip Wigle and John Mitchell-were convicted for their role in the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion but then pardoned by President George Washington. Stark as that prescription is, fewer than 30 people have been tried for treason by the federal courts. Treason is defined by the Constitution in Article 3, section three, as consisting in levying War against the United States or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. ![]()
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