If Trump isn’t a spy, why is he being charged under the Espionage Act?

In more than 100 years since its passage, few of the many cases brought under the US Espionage Act relate to what most people think of as espionage – individuals actually spying on behalf of a foreign nation.

Since becoming the first ex-US president to face federal charges, including 31 Espionage Act violations, an emerging Republican defence of Donald Trump is to argue that he should not be charged under the act because he is not a foreign spy.

“You may hate his guts, but he is not a spy; he did not commit espionage,” said South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio echoed that defence, saying Mr Trump did not conspire with America’s enemies to harm national security.

“There’s no allegation that he sold it to a foreign power or that it was trafficked to somebody else or that anybody got access to it,” said Mr Rubio.

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