InquiryLabs
Politics, Programming and Possibilities
Impeachment is in the Air
Author: Duane Johnson1 Jan
I sent this off today:
January 1, 2007
Honorable Nancy Pelosi
450 Golden Gate Ave., 14th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102Speaker Pelosi,
The American people elected a Democratic majority to restore checks and balances, the rule of law, and our reputation as a law-abiding country in the world community. These cannot be accomplished unless President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are impeached.
After having carefully reviewed the evidence, I respectfully request that you begin the necessary work that will lead to the impeachment of President George W. Bush. The deception has gone far enough: we, the people, are now painfully aware of the propaganda that paved the way for our accepting this war. Please put an end to this treasonous administration.
I ask you to consider the following high crimes and misdemeanors as a basis for this call for impeachment:
1. Violating the United Nations Charter by launching an illegal “War of Aggression” against Iraq without cause, using fraud to sell the war to Congress and the public, misusing government funds to begin bombing without Congressional authorization, and subjecting our military personnel to unnecessary harm, debilitating injuries, and deaths.
2. Violating U.S. and international law by authorizing the torture of thousands of captives, resulting in dozens of deaths, and keeping prisoners hidden from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
3. Violating the Constitution by arbitrarily detaining Americans, legal residents, and non-Americans, without due process, without charge, and without access to counsel.
4. Violating the Geneva Conventions by targeting civilians, journalists, hospitals, and ambulances, and using illegal weapons, including white phosphorous, depleted uranium, and a new type of napalm.
5. Violating U.S. law and the Constitution through widespread wiretapping of the phone calls and emails of Americans without a warrant.
6. Violating the Constitution by using “signing statements” to defy hundreds of laws passed by Congress.
7. Violating U.S. and state law by obstructing honest elections in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.
8. Violating U.S. law by using paid propaganda and disinformation, selectively and misleadingly leaking classified information, and exposing the identity of a covert CIA operative working on sensitive WMD proliferation for political retribution.
9. Subverting the Constitution and abusing Presidential power by asserting a “Unitary Executive Theory” giving unlimited powers to the President, by obstructing efforts by Congress and the Courts to review and restrict Presidential actions, and by promoting and signing legislation negating the Bill of Rights and the Writ of Habeas Corpus.
10. Gross negligence in failing to assist New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina, in ignoring urgent warnings of an Al Qaeda attack prior to Sept. 11, 2001, and in increasing air pollution causing global warming.
11. Failure to fully cooperate with 9/11 Commission and joint congressional inquiry, and refusal to comply with Freedom of Information Act in other areas as well.
“The world can’t wait until 2008.”
Respectfully,
Duane Johnson
For anyone who is interested, I pulled much of the content of the letter from democrats.com, although I am not particularly a Democrat myself. For a great resource on the whys and hows of impeachment, check out impeachbush.tv. Oh yeah, and here’s a fun song by Peter Tracy.
Update: I’m also considering the Pledge to Impeach campaign, though I’ll have to think that one over a bit.
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flickrRSS probably needs to be setup
8 Responses for "Impeachment is in the Air"
But what about the “accountability moment” in November 2004? Most of this was known then.
Duane,
Personally, I think Mr. Bush is without a doubt the worst president in the history of the US. His administration has damaged the US far more than the terrorists could ever even dream to. That said, just because we want him gone and we’d be better off without him, unfortunately doesn’t give cause to impeach.
The problem is there is no “evidence” to review. He needs to have actually violated a law. Your points, while well known and appalling are not actually reasons for impeachment.
1. Yes, the Iraq war is a mess and we were lied into it. Unfortunately, lying is not a crime unless he was under oath (this is what they tried to impeach Clinton on). Why do you think he’s always refused to testify under oath? Even “violating the united nations charter” is arguable (many member states would disagree) and violating it is of little consequence unless there were laws passed by the congress specifically criminalizing the violations.
2. He got around this by redefining torture. Is it right? No but, it is legal. Also, as before, “international law” means nothing in the US if our laws disagree.
3. The president has wide ranging powers while we are “at war.” This war on terror is basically a perpetual war that the congress stupidly gave the president authority to declare. Now, the congress doesn’t really have the authority to do this however, that’s their violation of the constitution, the president was technically following the law. Can we impeach the entire congress?
4. Prove this and prove the president specifically authorized these actions. Trust me, it won’t happen, there’s no proof of either. Note: according to the military we’ve used white phosphorous only as flares, not weapons. Also, DU is not actually illegal.
5. Again, authorized by the congress.
6. The signing statements themselves aren’t illegal and there’s so far no proof he’s acted on his signing statements.
7. You have to prove this and link it to Bush. Good luck with that.
8. Paid propaganda and disinformation are not illegal in-fact, both have been used quite effectively by many past presidents. The leaking of classified info has never been linked to Bush. Also, Bush has the authority to declassify whatever he likes, which he’s used many times to try and help his policies. Immoral but legal.
9. Yes, he’s violating the spirit of the constitution but, not the letter. It’s up to the congress and judiciary to check the executive power grab. So far they’ve given him what he wants, it’s all legal.
10. All of these are horrible but not illegal.
11. Again, horrible but not illegal.
I think you’re placing false hope in the congressional Democrats. The majority of these people are the very same that allowed Bush to do what he’s done. This administration could not have screwed up that badly without a completely incompetent congress.
Looking over your list I honestly see more major failures of the congress than the president. The congress have effectively voted away their power and authority.
Rich
btw, I’m no lawyer so while my arguments have some basis in fact I may have gotten the details wrong.
Rich, you have some good points. I’m not a lawyer either, so with regard to laws, I feel uncertainty too.
I do disagree with the general message of your post, however—that even though these things are terribly wrong, they are not illegal.
The people of the United States created the constitution and the laws of the land, not vice versa. If our laws have become so corrupt (or, as you point out, our law-makers) then it is up to us to do something about it. A vast majority of Americans feel that something is really wrong—morally wrong—with the leadership that has brought us to this point.
If this “moral law” of the people does not stand above the President, then what recourse do we have?
Also, as you point out, there are some areas where we lack the evidence. Certainly we believe in due process of law in this country, and therefore evidence is of prime importance. A corrupt president should get a fair trial even if he has stripped the rights of Habeas Corpus from others.
With that said, I believe that the process of impeachment itself, if we can find one modicum of evidence now, will be a powerful wake-up call for those who DO have evidence to come forward. There will be a tidal wave of evidence after that first teaspoon. My letter to Nancy Pelosi is a call to get that process under way.
Finally, Rich, I’m curious about your statement that “you’re placing false hope in the congressional Democrats.” While I agree to some extent, I think a particle of faith in this area may actually move a mountain, so to speak. If not to the Democrats, then to whom do you suggest we go?
Duane, I agree with the general sentiment of your comment. It appears you and I think alike in how a government should serve it’s people and the behavior expected of people in the government.
The problem is while we can be morally outraged, we are a country of laws. For example you agree there’s a lack of evidence and say “evidence is of prime importance” but then you go right into talking about the president getting a fair trial.
It’s very simple: Without evidence there shouldn’t be a trial.
It’s precisely this kind of behavior on the part of Mr. Bush’s administration that makes him so damaging to our country. Now you’re arguing that we should embrace “the Bush doctrine” for matters of prosecution.
This administration made the tragic mistake of thinking the only way to win this war is to abandon the moral high ground and confront them on their level (torture et al). It would be sad if the opposition to Bush in the US made the same mistake. We are better than him, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard.
I think a better use of the congress’ time is to exercise their investigative powers. Don’t jump right to impeachment. If you do there will be backlash from moderate Republican/Libertarian voters who were largely responsible for the Democrats’ win this time around.
The administration’s policies and actions should be investigated extensively. Impeachment should only be an option when there is overwhelming evidence of criminal acts.
My statement about “false hope” wasn’t meant to offer a solution, merely reality. This country will only be fixed through baby steps and the current congress will do little to help that.
I do however suggest instead of Democrats we go to the people.
There’s this impression out there that all liberals/progressives are rabid anti-Bush, terrorist-loving lunatics. It’s more common a thought than you might think. Unfortunately, with some people that’s not so far off the mark. Yes, we do have our own Ann Coulters.
Taking the most extreme position out of the gate won’t get us anywhere, that’s what they do. We need to raise the level of intelligent debate in this country. Show the people it’s not only OK to discuss these issues but it is patriotic. Show them that progressives would govern with sound reason not bile and hatred.
Sorry, I think I got a little off the mark there but, you get the idea. While I do disagree with you on many points (dear god… WRH?!) I do enjoy your political posts.
I think that Speaker Pelosi is going to approach holding the administration accountable in a sensible manner. Congress will hold hearings to exercise its constitutional duty of oversight, and this will include administration officials testifying under oath. No doubt some information will be revealed that will damn Bush and Cheney, and probably lead to either impeachment or resignation. And I think that’s the best way to go.
Attention Comrades,
Please visit http://ministryoflove.wordpress.com to learn about our creative protest of the Military Commissions Act.
Regards,
O’Brien
Rich:
I think we’re pretty much on the same page, with you weighing the evidence toward the “not enough” end of the scale, and me weighing the evidence toward the “enough” end. Ultimately, there is no law—aside from the constitution—which officially impeaches a president. Only congress can do that. And it is entirely within their jurisdiction to determine whether or not an offense is impeachable. This is their constitutional duty. I encourage them to exercise it.
[...] I wrote last month about my approval of and involvement in the effort to impeach Bush and Cheney. There was some discussion in the comments about the legality of impeachment–in other words, what law or laws, specifically, had been broken in order to merit the ousting of our president. [...]
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