Treason

From dKosopedia

Treason is the direct endangerment of large numbers of lives by putting the national security of the country directly at risk with, or grossly subverting the constitutional mechanisms by which the country continues to exist AS a country. Treason, in other words, is acts that simply destroy the country itself without seeking a peaceful transition to any other sort of rule or government. It is not treason to advocate secession based on a democratic vote, but it is based on a revolution which only a minority of people support. It is not treason to argue that clandestine ops should not exist or occur, but it is to point out people specifically engaged in them are, and the more so if one support clandestine operations in general. It is not treason to seek to replace the President and make deals with domestic parties to make that occur by democratic means, it is treason to conspire with parties hostile to the country and ensure that their actions cause an election to swing due to their timing - see October Surprise and Iran-Contra. And it is definitely treason to reveal the names of inside sources and agents whose personal safety and anonymity are important to any covert operations whatsoever:

"[W]e need more protection for the methods we use to gather intelligence and more protection for our sources, particularly our human sources, people that are risking their lives for their country. Even though I'm a tranquil guy now at this stage of my life, I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious, of traitors." - 1999 April 26, George H. W. Bush (Former President and Director of the CIA).

The elder Bush had fired Karl Rove from his re-election campaign in 1992 for leaking information from the President's cabinet to columnist Robert Novak.

Oil Company Treason

According to Jeremy Leggett, Walter Teagle of Standard Oil (ExxonMobil's predecessor) exchanged information with a German chemical company that gave Nazi Germany access to vital patents for the manufacture of aviation fuel and that he continued to trade vital information after Germany invade Poland. Source: Jeremy Leggett. 2005. The Empty Tank: Oil, Gas, Hot Air, and the Coming Global Financial Catastrophe. New York: Random House. ISBN 1400065275. Pp 94-96.