Famed law professor Laurence Tribe deleted an eyebrow-raising tweet suggesting that Fox News host Tucker Carlson excusing Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine could be tantamount to “treason.”

On Monday, the Harvard Law professor emeritus posted a tweet warning of a Carlson-led effort on behalf of the Trump wing of the Republican Party to back Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Ukraine crisis.

“If Putin opts to wage war on our ally, Ukraine, such ‘aid and comfort’ to an ‘enemy’ would appear to become ‘treason’ as defined by Article III of the U.S. Constitution,” Tribe said in a tweet that has since been deleted.

Carlson has questioned U.S. support for Ukraine as Russia amassed troops on its border in recent weeks, in what the U.S. government says is the preparation for an invasion. The Fox News has mocked those calling him a stooge for Russia.

Since Tribe brought up Article III of the Constitution, here’s what it says about treason in Section 3:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.

While Carlson has been criticized by even Republican lawmakers for his defenses of Russia, Tribe’s suggesting he committed treason by merely criticizing U.S. foreign policy drew objections from experts.

“This is completely false,” said conservative writer and lawyer David French. “Constitutional text, history, and precedent say this is false. It’s not even in the same ballpark as the truth.”

“Please stop, Sir,” implored national security lawyer Bradley Moss.

Please stop, Sir.

— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) February 21, 2022

This is completely false. Constitutional text, history, and precedent say this is false. It’s not even in the same ballpark as the truth. Here’s a very helpful discussion of “treason” from the National Constitution Center: https://t.co/zFL2sQ4ouO https://t.co/RcxjpNKXWH

— David French (@DavidAFrench) February 21, 2022

This is not the type of “aid and comfort” that would qualify as treason. Please leave these tropes in the past where they belong. https://t.co/EEc4JDTN4d

— Adam Steinbaugh (@adamsteinbaugh) February 21, 2022

Eventually, Tribe dialed back his comments by offering a clarification that since the U.S. is not currently at war with Russia, he was not speaking literally and “treason prosecutions should be off the table.”

The clarification was eventually deleted too, along with the original post.

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