CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION
– CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS
June 10, 2008 – 7:55 p.m.
House to Vote on Sending Impeachment Articles to Committee
By Molly K. Hooper, CQ Staff
House members are set to vote Wednesday on sending articles of impeachment against President Bush to the Judiciary Committee.
The 35 articles were offered by Dennis J. Kucinich , D-Ohio, who has pushed his caucus to do more to challenge the White House regarding the run-up to the Iraq War.
Democratic Party leaders have spent nearly a year and a half reining in their caucus on this topic, determined to show that the party is more focused on getting out of Iraq than on how the nation got into Iraq.
Kucinich argues Bush abused his power “to manufacture a false case for war against Iraq.”
On Monday, Kucinich spent about four and a half hours reading the full impeachment text into the Congressional Record.
Under House rules, the chamber must act on the measure within two days.
Judiciary Chairman John Conyers Jr. , D-Mich., declined to say whether his committee would consider the articles.
Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer , questioning whether impeachment hearings were the right use of time remaining on this year’s election-shortened calendar, defended Congress’ record on confronting Bush.
“This Congress, for the first time since this president has been in office, is holding him accountable, doing oversight in terms of Iraq and Afghanistan, domestic policy, and international civil liberties and civil rights,” said Hoyer, D-Md.
Although many view a referral to committee as a burial for the resolution, Kucinich insisted that “referring it to committee indicates that there should be hearings on this.”
He said the record to support impeachment is “so voluminous and well-documented” that hearings ought to be held.
Kucinich said he and his staff originally put together 60 articles of impeachment but cut that list to what he described as the “most powerful” allegations.
Comments
Sir, I admire your gumption in demanding the impeachment of our president. I support your efforts and your courage. Hang in there. If I can support you in any way, please let me know. Donna House
No forgiveness, no amnesty. Pursue the Bush administration until they are brought to justice. Direct Democracy
Finally, a single U.S. politician with a pair of testicles. The U.S. can only regain its standing in the world if it prosecutes its blatantly criminal leadership with war crimes and impeaches. If the U.S. fails to do this, the world will know that its people and politicians are cowards and monsters who will let the death of over 1, 000, 000 Iraqis go unpunished. This will be the sign for China, and Russia and other ascending undemocratic states, that anything goes. After that, hope for humanity grows dim indeed...
At the very least it should be looked into. If not then it smells like a cover up to keep the status quo rolling forward. Nothing will come of it before the election so in essense the point is moot. Since the Dems took Congress its been pretty much more of the same for the corporate interests that control congress. Big surprise - the reality is that for most people it doesn't matter which party is in power - they both screw over the American people in order to keep their political allies well stocked with our tax dollars which are becoming ever worthless in a world class mess created by the Federal Reserve's policies at the behest of their masters.
Another typical witch hunt for the Democratic party. When are you idiots going to quit wasting taxpayers money and time with your games of who can put the blame on the Republican president this week. Mr Kucniich you're nothing but a liitle twerp from Ohio who's trying to posture yourself for a higher position in the Democratic demogrogary in the elitist Washington establishment. Are you looking to score a few points for re-election. You people in Washington are nothing but a disgrace to the American people and I have to grind my teeth to keep from saying what I really think about you.
It may not be politically advantageous at this moment to try to impeach GWB. However, it is the job of Congress, it is their responsibility according to the Constitution, to remove elected and appointed officials that break the law. There is no doubt, none, that the law was broken between the issues of domestic spying and the war. George W. Bush is responsible for the death of 4,000 soldiers and wounding of 30,000 more, not to mention 4 million refugees and untold killed in Iraq. This was not about about bad intel, it was about having an agenda and fixing/lying the facts to fit it. He sold the war from the data that supported it, ignoring the rest. Do we accept his "oops" or hold him responsible? When does the "buck stop here?" Why did this take so long? Isn't this the job of Congress? Ms. Pelosi, please rethink your position. This is not about politics but about your responsibilities according to the Constitution. Thanks.
I love this line "more focused on getting out of Iraq". That one had me howling with laughter. All they do is add pork to Chimpys war bill and then rubber stamp it. What a joke. I guess AIPAC hasn't ordered the impeachment, so it won't happen.
"This Congress, for the first time since this president has been in office, is holding him accountable, doing oversight in terms of Iraq and Afghanistan, domestic policy, and international civil liberties and civil rights," said Hoyer, D-Md. I cannot believe the gall of this man! What have they done? NOTHING!!! Bush claims Executive Privilege that isn't found in the Constitution. Bush has killed over a million people and won't even testify before Congress! Congressman Hoyer should be booted out of office, as should every piece of slime that refuses to impeach Bush and then try him and his entourage for crimes against humanity.
This is like buying a smoke detector after your house burns down. There will be no justice for this crime laden administration. The corruption runs too deep. The Lord will sort them out at a later date.
In retro-spect seems like Dennis Kucinich should have been the Democratic nominee for President..he is the only one willing to stand and defend the Constitution...knowing this, is it any wonder that the DLC and the right-wing slanted media attacked him at every turn? I can truthfully say I am bitter and I blame the Democratic party for this mess just as much as BushCo...I pray the good people of Nevada, California, Michigan and Maryland rid us of the enabling and colluding Reid, Pelosi, Conyers and Hoyer...with Democratic members such as those, we might as well vote Republican and bring on the fireworks, as we watch the total destruction of our country.....
Hell yes impeachment should move forward. And I'm not so certain it should stop with just the president and his evil allies. Congress has a boat load to answer for as well, but with any luck we can dump most of the incumbants up for re-election this November.
I only wish he had done this sooner so that we could run candidates against all the "Democrats" in the primaries who vote against this resolution. Besides, Impeachment isn't the same as conviction. Let's let Bush et al have their fair day in the Senate. Let them answer for all they have done these last few years. Should the Senate exonerate them, so be it. At least history will look back and say we tried and will vilify all those who stood against this.
Our elected officials will be hard pressed to say they are tough on crime when they ignore the overwhelming evidence for impeachment. Polls show that We the People want congress to perform their oversight duties and resposibilties. What does the rest of the world think of our current form of "democracy" and our rewritten Constitution?
How is it that the Republicans have the courage to imp[each Bill Clinton for having secret sex in the Wgite House but the Democrats don't have the courage to impeach GW Bush for the crime of lying to the American public and Congress causing hundreds of thousand s of deaths if innocent people. Have some guts and do what is right for a change.
Torment them all & chase them down. This gang makes Nixon and his crew look like mischievous Boy Scouts! And how they hounded Clinton because of Lewinsky, heck that was a prom date! Neither Nixon's nor Clinton's antics caused such loss of life, loss of respect and integrity, and a hollow dollar now worth Monopoly money
Did it ever occur to you Liberal morons that the Congress and Senate voted FOR this war with the same Intel the Pres had? Shouldn't then anyone who voted for it be tried as an accesory? 13 Attacks against the US prior to the war on the death worshipers and ZERO since. I am cool with that
We as a people must demand that Congress investigate the Bush administration's Iraq war for high crimes based on mountains of fabrications, manipulating and misstating intelligence, deceptions, and lies. The founders of our country feared more than anything else the prospect of an executive who put his own power and desires above the Constitution. Congress was given the power of impeachment so that it could remove any president who committed the high crime of violating the Constitution during his (or her) term in office. CONGRESS do your job and relinquish respect to American and our Constitution from the corruption, lies and abuses of President George .W. Bush. They must be held ACCOUNTABLE for their UNLAWFUL actions! Do not let them get off unpunished! He should be tried for TREASON for creating this farse of a war with Iraq -adding to the record deficit & debt - destroying our country's pride- trust - Civil Liberties - financial stability and our security. A strong case can be made that no president in the history of this country is more deserving of impeachment than George W. Bush. If he is not impeached, the bar for impeachment will have been raised so high that it might as well no longer exist. Future presidents will know that they can violate the Constitution at will, confident in the fact that Congress does not have the courage as an institution to do anything about it. We cannot allow this to happen. He has broken laws of our great land ! Don't let them get away with this!
For all those republican pundits who claim that bush never lied, I can only say, "Yellowcake." Valerie Plame for V.P!
If you want lower gas prices, you better call your senator and demand he or she stand up for the Constitution first, and Impeachment is not an Option second. Otherwise, it's "FISA" FISA FISA FISA FISA FISA FISA until they get Immunity, Protection Liability from stealing your treasury and your Constitutional Rights.
I do agree with Robert Martin's comments. It's also way past the point of impeaching GWB. Ignorance and brainwashing of the U.S. citizens have gone so far that any action against any responsible politician is just another con to push away attention from the real issue. DO NOT GO TO WAR WITH IRAN. Thats all that realy counts right now. How? Defenately not by impeaching anybody.
Oh this is funny. I think every Congress should produce some charges or articles of Impeachment. Maybe one of these days we will actually produce serious ones to actually throw one of the bums out of office. Hahaha. Good stuff. This truly makes politics a fun sport now. Awesome!
George W. Bush NEEDS to be impeached, not solely as a sanction against and retribution for his crimes, but, more importantly, in order to uphold our Constitution with its finely-worked balance of powers and prevent enabling the executive abuses of power his administration has put into place from going forward into future administrations. Impeachment has more to do with preserving our Constitution than punishing the abuser, notwithstanding the fact that that punishment is needed. The arguments that it's "too late" or "not productive" (shame on you, Steny Hoyer) hold no water in the light of this fact. Thank you very much, Mr. Kucinich, for your integrity and persistence in the face of such immense, blatant abuse, on BOTH sides of the aisle.
Are you people kidding me??? Every LARGE country was asked and supported the attack on Iraq; WHY? Because they ALL agreed that the Iraqi regime had WMD's. That list includes France, Russia, Japan ALL THE BIGGIES!!! So where is the crime? I am a veteran of the first Iraqi theater and I agree it is sad that so many have died, but since we cannot do what we did to Japan and bomb them ( Thanks to tree huggin libs ) then it will continue. If Congress really wants to stop this war then grow a pair and stop the funding!!!! Oh wait you can not do that because then it will be YOUR fault that so many have died. We have a duty to those that have already been lost to continue to the end or else the dead will have died in vain. And Jesus people let's car about the American Way of life ( Cheap oil, cheap food our starving and homeless ) before we worry about the dead Iraqi's. Who is more important? Our's or there's? OURS!!!!!!! Our sons and daughters our dads and moms.
"We have a duty to those that have already been lost to continue to the end or else the dead will have died in vain" I've never understood that attitude. Jeremy Owen, did you ever hear the expression, "throwing good money after bad?" We made a terrible mistake by going into Iraq and those poor young people paid for that error with their lives. Now you want to send more of our lovely, patriotic though misguided men and women to their deaths? I just don't get it.
The US has to stop talking impeachment every time a new president gets into office. We are shaking the foundation of all democracies in the world when we start resorting to impeachment to settle political differences. Nancy Pelosi is smart enough to understand this, why can't the rest of the democrats understand it?
As I have always said ,put the President,Vice President and there croney's on the front line there wouldn't be war. Impeach Bush,Chaney and there croneys also. Cut off there pensions,perks, salary. If I did what they did I would never live long enough to go to prison.
It appears that the villagers are taking up their torches and pitchforks to protest what they do not understand. It would be amusing if this did not distract government from its needed functions. According to Kucinich, Dick Cheney is guilty of following the National Intelligence Estimate of Iraq's capabilities to remove a tyrant who had invaded Kuwait, used weapons of mass destruction against his own population, was paying off Palestinian terrorist's families and was continuing to violate the terms of the cease-fire.
Steny Hoyer thinks it is a waste of time to salvage the integrity and honor of the United States of America! The Democrats think that following the Constitution will hurt them this fall! Conyers has not come up with a new excuse to sideline the most important actions a Congress can take! What is wrong with these people? The Republicans are no better since they continue to play partisan politics also. Whatever happened to American politics? Where are our American heros that once walked the halls of Congress. Today we only have 27(those that have signed on to Kucinich's bill) left of the real patriots within the 438 Representatives in Congress. It does not get any sadder than this folks!
This is a reply to Jeremy Owen. France and Russia were bittterly opposed to invading Iraq so much so that the US immdediately began to put horrible spin against the French in our media. Most countries were unenthused and in their media much was heard of the fact that there were no WMD's. An unreported fact in the US media was that Canadians and Europeans were calling Bush the new Hitler. I don't know where you are getting your information but if you are depending solely on what is aired on American major television networks, you are badly misled. NBC refused to allow Dennis Kucinich to debate in the presidential debates and all networks refused to give any air time to his campaign...he was blackballed because he is unafraid to speak the truth until he was forced to drop out of the race.
This congress won't do a darn thing. I am so fed up with their ineptness. Members of the Bush admin. have broken the law and should be held to the letter of the law, just like any of us would be.
Please Lord. Let it happen
If you are not outraged you are not paying attention. We were misled, we were lied to, and we were cheated. Democrat or republican those who were responsible should be held accountable.
Republican are always accusing Congress for not enforcing the laws, yet they don't have any will to do the same. The Republicans actually started the impeachment hearing against Nixon, and saved the integrity of America, and Bush/Cheney's crimes against the American people, are certainly far worse, and deeper in scope. The current field of Republicans are weak, boneless, and wimpy at best. Impeach, and long live Democracy in America.
Thank you, Thank You, Thank You!. I was really beginning to question what the Bush Admin. had on all members of the Senate and the House. With all that is going on its about time somebody stood up for what our Four Fathers intended!!!!! However, I am still a little shaky...Why are the Senate and the House just allowing Bush to go ahead with this stuff rather than SAYING NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where are our checks and balances...And please dont give me this "Oh well he makes a good arguement.!" Come on people, BS. Of corse the President isnt gonna tell you the blant truth behind his actions! Who would! So they smother it behind some bogus reasoning. ! Although it gets me frustrated that people have feed into it. I am truley happy that somebody finally took a stand and put it on the books! Thank you so much for taking a stand when everybody else thought it was best to keep the blinders on. Thank you Dennis Kucinich Thank You so much. Hopefully your leadership will follw suit to all the others who sat back and did nothing.
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