U.S. Sen. John McCain’s attempt to smooth over a contentious phone call between President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was against the law, according to several bloggers.

But their ire toward the Arizona Republican relies on a hard-to-establish link to a highly politicized law that no one has ever been convicted of violating.

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It’s highly doubtful that McCain, who has made a habit of serving as a foil for Trump, actually violated federal law. Stanford law professor Michael McConnell doubted the Logan Act could be used to keep a senator from talking to a country’s envoy about foreign affairs, which senators often do.

“So far as publicly available information indicates, Sen. McCain spoke with the Australian ambassador to assure the nation of his own unwavering support — not to influence any ‘measures or conduct,’” McConnell told us in an email.