Why 'treason' doesn't quite describe Trump's actions in Helsinki

Treason might feel like the right word to describe the behaviour of U.S. President Donald Trump, but it may not be the right charge, according to a professor of constitutional law.

There is a "lack of a good word to describe behaviour like Trump's," said Carlton Larson, a professor at the University of California.

"The most natural word to fall on — when you see the president doing what he did — is treason," he told The Current's guest host Duncan McCue.

The legal definition of treason — which is the only crime defined in the U.S. constitution — is "limited to levying war against the United States, or adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort," Larson explained.

But treason has a colloquial meaning — a person who betrays a country.

"It's quite possible to betray the country, to put other countries' interests ahead of our own, and to do things that severely undermine the country, without technically being a traitor," Larson said.

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