Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. took matters into his own hands when he privately met with a top Iranian official in Munich, Germany early February.
The move sparked rumors that he could have potentially broken the Logan Act — but as it happens that may be the least of his worries.
In light of Iran’s coronavirus outbreak, critics across the political spectrum have suggested that Murphy himself be tested.
Quarantined even — considering one in 10 members of Iranian parliament have become infected with the virus according to reports.
Murphy spoke out on social media to raise awareness about the deadly infection, when one user reminded him that he’d been abroad mingling with an Iranian member of parliament.
“You just met with infected Iranians,” @Nyokie68 wrote. “Self quarantine immediately or you need to be taken into custody.”
You just met with infected Iranians. Self quarantine immediately or you need to be taken into custody
— JustaLilSardineErl (@Nyokie68) March 3, 2020
To be fair, outlets such as Western Journal are reporting the timeline of Murphy’s visit in Munich doesn’t correlate with the timing of the massive outbreak beyond China.
That being said, strange coincidences have taken place.
Murphy revealed on social media website Medium that he had indeed met with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Feb. 18 — the same day the first two deaths via coronavirus were reported in Iran.
Murphy wrote that he had met with Zarif to further dialogue with Iran.
“Discussions and negotiations are a way to ease tensions and reduce the chances for crisis,” Murphy declared. “But Trump, of course, has no such interests.”
Whether or not he’s right about Iran remains to be seen.
But many believe he put himself in danger in going rogue.
“Not only did you violate the Logan Act you may very well be getting people sick,” @carolynreams1 wrote.
https://twitter.com/carolynreams1/status/1234900053346672651
To be clear, official reports and accounts say that Murphy only met with one Iranian member of parliament as opposed to a group.
But Murphy’s actions also implicated his fellow colleagues on Capitol Hill, where it’s possible the virus could have spread to others in Washington, D.C.
The public’s call to action came at the heels of an enormous spike of coronavirus victims in Iran, which includes 23 members of parliament according to Guardian. That translates to approximately 8% of all government, officials have said. 2,336 cases total exist, and the virus has taken the lives of 77 people in the Islamic nation.
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The Horn editorial team