http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080815-172823
By CARL HULSE
Published: August 15, 2008
WASHINGTON -- When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set out to promote her new motivational book this month, she simultaneously touched off her national why-haven't-you-impeached-the-president tour.
As she made the coast-to-coast rounds of lectures, television interviews and radio chats the past two weeks, Ms. Pelosi found herself under siege by people unhappy that she has not been motivated to try to throw President Bush out of office – even if only a few months remain before he leaves voluntarily.

In Manhattan and Los Angeles, at stops in between, on network television and on her home turf of Northern California, Ms. Pelosi has been forced to defend her pronouncement before the 2006 mid-term elections that impeachment over the administration’s push for war in Iraq was off the table.

Pressed on ABC’s “The View” about whether she had unilaterally disarmed, the author of “Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughters” said she believed the proceedings would be too divisive and be a distraction from advancing the policy agenda of the new Democratic majority.

Then she added this qualifier: “If somebody had a crime that the president had committed, that would be a different story.”

That assertion only threw fuel on the impeachment fire as advocates of removing Mr. Bush cited the 35 articles of impeachment compiled by Representative Dennis Kucinich, Democrat of Ohio, as well as accusations in a new book by author Ron Suskind of White House orders to falsify intelligence, an accusation that has been denied
Click "related link" to read more]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080811-230244
For Immediate Release
August 11, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Godfrey (Conyers)
Lillian German (Conyers)
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) today announced plans to review allegations that senior Bush Administration officials ordered the forgery and dissemination of false intelligence documents as reported by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Ron Suskind, in his new book, "The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism."

"Mr. Suskind reports that the Bush Administration, in its pursuit of war, created and promoted forged documents about Iraq," said Conyers. "I am particularly troubled that the decision to disseminate this fabricated intelligence is alleged to have come from the highest reaches of the administration. The administration’s attempt to challenge Mr. Suskind’s reporting appears to have been effectively dismissed by the publication of the author’s interview recordings and transcripts. I have instructed my staff to conduct a careful review of Mr. Suskind’s allegations and the role played by senior administration officials in this matter."

A number of issues raised in Mr. Suskind’s book to be reviewed include:

The origin of the allegedly forged document that formed the basis for Bush’s 2003 State of the Union assertion that Iraq sought yellowcake uranium from Niger;
The role of this document in creating the false impression that 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta had a working relationship with Iraq;
The relationship between this document and other reported examples of the Bush Administration considering other deceptive schemes to justify or provoke war with Iraq, such as the reported consideration of painting a U.S. aircraft with UN colors in order to provoke Iraq into military confrontation;
Allegations that the Bush Administration deliberately ignored information from Iraq’s chief intelligence officer that Iraq possessed no WMDs;
The payment of $5 million to Iraq’s chief intelligence officer and his secret settlement in Jordan, beyond the reach of investigators;
The September 2007 detainment and interrogation of Mr. Suskind’s research assistant, Greg Jackson, by federal agents in Manhattan. Jackson’s notes were also confiscated.


##110-JUD-080811##]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080809-113931
What just happened? Evidence. A secret that has been judiciously kept for five years just spilled out. All of what follows is new, never reported in any way:

The Iraq Intelligence Chief, Tahir Jalil Habbush -- a man still carrying a $1 million reward for capture, the Jack of Diamonds in Bush's famous deck of wanted men -- has been America's secret source on Iraq. Starting in January of 2003, with Blair and Bush watching, his secret reports began to flow to officials on both sides of the Atlantic, saying that there were no WMD and that Hussein was acting so odd because of fear that the Iranians would find out he was a toothless tiger. The U.S. deep-sixed the intelligence report in February, "resettled" Habbush to a safe house in Jordan during the invasion and then paid him $5 million in what could only be considered hush money.

In the fall of 2003, after the world learned there were no WMD -- as Habbush had foretold -- the White House ordered the CIA to carry out a deception. The mission: create a handwritten letter, dated July, 2001, from Habbush to Saddam saying that Atta trained in Iraq before the attacks and the Saddam was buying yellow cake for Niger with help from a "small team from the al Qaeda organization."

The mission was carried out, the letter was created, popped up in Baghdad, and roiled the global newcycles in December, 2003 (conning even venerable journalists like Tom Brokaw). The mission is a statutory violation of the charter of the CIA, and amendments added in 1991, prohibiting the CIA from conducting disinformation campaigns on U.S. soil.

So, here we go again: the administration is in full attack mode, calling me names, George Tenet is claiming he doesn't remember any such thing -- just like he couldn't remember "slam dunk" -- and reporters are scratching their heads. Everything in my book is on the record, with many sources. And so, we watch and wait....

]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080807-103928

A White House Forgery Scandal?
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, August 5, 2008; 12:05 PM

Investigative reporter Ron Suskind's new book charges that the White House, seeking to justify its invasion of Iraq, ordered the CIA in late 2003 to forge evidence of a link between Iraq and al Qaeda.

Suskind, a Pulitzer-winning reporter and relentless chronicler of this administration's secrets, depicts a White House with a simpleminded bully in the Oval Office taking direction from a paranoid vice president -- and caps off his latest expose with what he acknowledges sounds a lot like an impeachable offense.

Mike Allen writes for Politico: "A new book by the author Ron Suskind claims that the White House ordered the CIA to forge a back-dated, handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein.

"Suskind writes in ' The Way of the World,' to be published Tuesday, that the alleged forgery -- adamantly denied by the White House -- was designed to portray a false link between Hussein's regime and al Qaeda as a justification for the Iraq war. . . .

"The letter's existence has been reported before, and it had been written about as if it were genuine. It was passed in Baghdad to a reporter for The (London) Sunday Telegraph who wrote about it on the front page of Dec. 14, 2003, under the headline, Terrorist behind September 11 strike 'was trained by Saddam.'
To read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03_pf.html]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080802-225417 Judge Rules According to Law, Miers and Bolten Must Testify

By David Swanson

Well, I thought it would take longer and go the other way, but I'm glad I was wrong on both counts. The judge just ruled that Miers and Bolten must testify. But it is unclear to me what happens to them if they don't. There is also very likely to be an appeal, and who knows how long that may take or which way it may go. If the process ever does end and ends in accordance with the rule of law, it is also unclear to me whether each new contempt citation will have to be litigated, or whether this ruling can be applied broadly. There is also the possibility of these people pleading the Fifth Amendment if they ever do testify. Kagro X knows this stuff better than I and suggests that this strengthens a case for using inherent contempt. I didn't know any case was needed and assumed they could just use inherent contempt the minute they grew spines. I take Kagro X's point to be that the only way to actually enforce this ruling is inherent contempt, without which it's just more restatement of the law, which we already knew was being brazenly violated. Kagro also thinks some serious difference would be needed for another subpoena not to fall under this ruling. Whether that means we'll see more subpoenas or contempt citations sent or not is anybody's guess. The weak link will still always be enforcement, and the Democrats will probably revel in Bush's flauting of yet more legal rulings, oblivious to the public's desire that actual enforcement and impeachment follow.

US judge: White House aides can be subpoenaed
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush's top advisers are not immune from congressional subpoenas, a federal judge ruled Thursday in an unprecedented dispute between the two political branches.

The House Judiciary Committee wants to question the president's chief of staff, Josh Bolten, and former legal counsel Harriet Miers, about the firing of nine U.S. attorneys. But President Bush says they are immune from such subpoenas. They say Congress can't force them to testify or turn over documents.

U.S. District Judge John Bates disagreed. He said there's no legal basis for that argument. He said that Miers must appear before Congress and, if she wants to refuse to testify, she must do so in person.

"Harriet Miers is not immune from compelled congressional process; she is legally required to testify pursuant to a duly issued congressional subpoena," Bates wrote.

He said that both Bolten and Miers must give Congress all non-privileged documents related to the firings.

The Bush administration can appeal the ruling. The Justice Department did not immediately respond for a request for com]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080730-152219 by Laurie Kellman
WASHINGTON - A House panel Wednesday voted to cite former top White House aide Karl Rove for contempt of Congress as its Senate counterpart publicly pursued possible punishments for an array of alleged past and present Bush administration misdeeds.

Voting along party lines, the House Judiciary Committee said that Rove had broke the law by failing to appear at a July 10 hearing on allegations of White House influence over the Justice Department, including whether Rove encouraged prosecutions against Democrats.

The committee decision is only a recommendation, and it was unclear whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., would allow a final vote. Rove has denied any involvement with Justice decisions, and the White House has said Congress has no authority to compel testimony from current and former advisers.

The vote occurred as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on allegations of administration wrongdoing ranging from discriminating against liberals at Justice to ignoring subpoenas and lying to Congress.
Click on 'related link' to read more.]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080730-151932 Friends,

The fact that hearings on impeachable offenses were held on July 25th proves that even Pelosi and Conyers will yield to pressure. The hearings had gravitas, legal merit and clearly refuted arguments against impeachment. Now we must keep up the pressure until the House Judiciary Committee votes to approve Articles of Impeachment.

Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are angry about refused subpoenas. I believe that the refusal of numerous subpoenas presents our strongest hope of a speedy Article of Impeachment. Based on prima facie evidence, a passing vote on this Article would take less than an hour.

One Representative said, "Without subpoena power, Congress has no power." Please encourage the Judiciary Committee and your Representative to defend the rightful authority of Congress and the US Constitution now.

Some good news, the Judiciary Committee voted today to hold Rove for contempt. Click here to help send Karl Rove to jail.

Impeachment is coming -- no president is above the law!
Linda Boyd
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACTION #1: IMPEACHMENT DAY AT JIM MCDERMOTT'S OFFICE, THURS, JULY 31, 2008, 9:00 a.m.--10-ish. Followed by "Honk to Impeach & leafletting"
Action #2: Lobby members of the Judiciary Committtee to support full and formal impeachment hearings.

Please join us at Jim McDermott's office to urge him to do his part to prevent war in Iran and defend the constitution by impeaching GW Bush immediately.

Most people don't know there were hearings on impeachable offenses in the House Judiciary Committee on July 25th. Please help Jim McDermott to cosign Articles of Impeachment or write his own resolution calling for full and formal impeachment hearings.

We will have signs and flyers for a meet and greet with the public on the streets downtown later.

If you are unable to join us, please call Jim McDermott's office to urge him to impeach Bush now. Seattle: 206-553-7170, Toll free D.C. 1-800-828-0498

Seattle Office

1809 7th Avenue
Suite 1212
Seattle, WA 98101-1399
(206) 553-7170
(206) 553-7175 Fax

Action #2: Urge the entire House Judiciary Committee to vote Articles of Impeachment NOW.

You can FAX the entire Judiciary Committee: 202-225-7680

You can leave a phone message for the entire committee: 202-225-3951

You can e-mail the entire House Judiciary Committee here: http://judiciary.house.gov/about/contact.html

You can email Speaker Pelosi: AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov

Sample Message:

Chairman Rep John Conyers,

Thank you for chairing the very important hearing on abuses of executive power and impeachable offenses by the Bush administration last Friday, July 25th.

Impeachment is on the table. The testimony of of Rep. Kucinich, members of your Committee, and the distinguished witnesses on the panel have made a compelling case for the immediate impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney.

The Judiciary Committee must move aggressively to restore its own authority, and that of Congress, by using the the strongest measures available to ensure that the laws they pass are not invalidated by signing statements. The Judiciary Committee must ensure that subpoenas are honored. Any failure to protect the authority of Congressional oversight is a failure to defend the constitution and the integrity of our system's balance of power. The Constitution is not a Republican or a Democratic issue, it's an American issue.

Of course, time is short, only 4 legislative weeks left for the 110th Democratic Congress. We must certainly devote each and every second that's available, even the last second, to the defense of our constitution, and do so with high honor. You can move impeachment proceedings through the House without delay, and let the Senate use August recess for their proceedings.

I ask for an act of nonpartisan statesmanship of the highest order.
Impeach Bush and Cheney without delay, and the crown of justice restored will be yours forever.

Sincerely,
Name, address

]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080729-162841 Friday's House Impeachment Hearing: A Victory and a Challenge

By Dave Lindorff

The dramatic hearing on presidential crimes and abuses of power held on Friday by the House Judiciary Committee was both a staged farce, and at the same time, a powerful demonstration of the power of a grassroots movement in defense of the Constitution. It was at once both testimony to the cowardice and self-inflicted impotence of Congress and of the Democratic Party that technically controls that body, and to the enormity of the damage that has been wrought to the nation’s democracy by two aspiring tyrants in the White House.

As Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the committee, made clear more than once during the six-hour session, this was “not an impeachment hearing, however much many in the audience might wish it to be” He might well have added that he himself was not the fierce defender of the Constitution and of the authority of Congress that he once was before gaining control of the Judiciary Committee, however much his constituents, his wife, and Americans across the country might wish him to be.

At the same time, while the hearing was strictly limited to the most superficial airing of Bush administration crimes and misdemeanors, the fact that the session—technically an argument in defense of 36 articles of impeachment filed in the House over the past several months by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)--was nonetheless a major victory for the impeachment movement. It happened because earlier in the month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who has sworn since taking control of the House in November 2006, that impeachment would be “off the table” during the 110th Congress, called a hasty meeting with Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Rep. Conyers, and Rep. Kucinich, and called for such a limited hearing.
Click to read more: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/35119]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080729-150328 Impeachment Petition Deadline Midnight Wednesday

Dear Friends,

Because of your vigilance and support for democracy, last Friday was a day of singular importance in Washington. The House Judiciary Committee met to discuss the Bush Administration's abuse of executive power and for the first time the case for Impeachment was discussed in front of a Congressional committee, in depth, at length and with authority.

Twenty members of the Judiciary Committee attended the six hour hearing, during which twelve witnesses, including myself and four members of Congress testified. In this hearing I called for the Impeachment of the President for misrepresenting a case for war.

This week I will present members of Congress with Impeachment petitions submitted by those of you who have signed the on-line impeachment form.

I need your help. In the next few days we must redouble our efforts to get more signatures on the online petition at kucinich.us. I'm asking each of you to please contact at least ten of your friends to go to www.Kucinich.us now and sign the Impeachment petition that will be delivered by me. Wednesday night is the deadline.

Please send out an email to all your friends and family, post this link, http://kucinich.us to your blogs and make this effort count as this is the only petition that I will deliver.

Thank you so very much.



Dennis]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080726-235226
The WA State greens sent out an announcement calling yesterday's hearings a "sham," quoting Cindy Sheehan. Please don't let anybody do this without a response. While the hearings were not true impeachment hearings, the door is now opened. The public can see that the proceeding had gravitas, legal merit, and that the members of the committee were moved by the proceedings. The public could see that the priority is to defend the constitution and the authority of congress. John Conyers obviously enjoyed them, and I think the proceedings 'normalized' the idea of impeachment hearings. For all of their efforts, the Republicans are not going to be able to say that impeachment hearings are an extreme measure.

A huge mass of testimony was entered into the congressional record. I am more optimistic than ever.

Not a sham, a giant step forward.
Onward.

WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW?

Call Toll free to DC switchboard to connect to any member of congress: 1-800-828-0498, 1-800-788-9372

Leave a message for John Conyers and House Judiciary Committee to vote on Articles of Impeachment now:
202-225-3951, 202-225-6504

You can FAX the entire Judiciary Committee: 202-225-7680

See the hearings at CSpan online.http://www.c-span.org/
Also ADS:http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/35061


Here's a sample letter to Conyers and members of the Judiciary Committee:

Chairman Rep John Conyers,

Thank you for chairing the very important hearing on abuses of executive power and impeachable offenses by the Bush administration last Friday, July 25th.

Impeachment is on the table. The testimony of of Rep. Kucinich, members of your Committee, and the distinguished witnesses on the panel have made a compelling case for the immediate impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney.

Of course, time is short, only 4 legislative weeks left for the 110th Democratic Congress. We must certainly devote each and every second that's available, even the last second, to the defense of our constitution, and do so with high honor. You can move impeachment proceedings through the House without delay, and let the Senate use August recess for their proceedings.

Impeach Bush and Cheney without delay, and the crown of justice restored will be yours forever.

Sincerely,

XXXXX


]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080725-214517
I was braced for a two hour dog and pony show. Instead there was over six hours of solid testimony, and vigorous Q and A. I feel optimistic that we will see full and formal impeachment hearings next. I will write more tomorrow. A great day for WE THE PEOPLE!

Please come on out to the corner of NE 8th and Bellevue Way in downtown Bellevue at noon Sat,. July 26th, for our weekly "honk to impeach" event. It will be crowded with the NW Arts and Crafts Fair crowds. We'll have signs and leaflets. Wear your 'impeach' shirts for easy messaging. Last year, I was a walking billboard, and received many warm comments.

THANK YOU FOR DEFENDING THE CONSTITUTION AND HUMANITY!
LINDA

Impeachment Hearings are the Appropriate and Necessary Next Step
posted by JOHN NICHOLS on 07/25/2008 @ 2:32pm

As the House Judiciary Committee took up the question of how best to address what its chairman described as "the Imperial Presidency of George W. Bush," it was one of the ranking Republicans in the room, Iowa Congressman Steve King, who observed that, "We are here having impeachment hearings before the Judiciary Committee."
"These are impeachment hearings before the United States Congress," King continued. "I never imagined I would ever be sitting on this side when something like this happened."
King was not happy about the circumstance.
A resolute defender of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, the congressman was objecting to the very mention of the "I" word.
As it happened, impeachment was mentioned dozens of times during the hearing, often in significant detail and frequently as a necessary response to lawless actions of the president and vice president.
King's statement addressed the uncertain character of Friday morning's attempt by the relevant committee of the chamber empowered by the founders to impose accountability on presidents and vice presidents to tackle what Judiciary Committee chair John Conyers, D-Michigan, referred to as "numerous credible allegations of serious misconduct by officials in the Bush Administration."
Conyers explained that "to the regret of many, this is not an impeachment hearing." For that to happen, Conyers argued, the committee would need clearer authorization from the full House.
But members of the committee, the Democrats and the Republicans, as well as a bipartisan panel of House members and another panel of former House members, and academics and activists, repeatedly put the impeachment on the table of a chamber where the speaker had once denied it a place.
Congressman Maurice Hinchey, D-New York, told the committee that President Bush and Vice President Cheney had committed acts that make theirs "the most impeachable administration in the history of our country."
Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson-Lee, held up a copy of the Constitution and announced, "There is a real question of whether this Constitution is being protected."
Republican members of the committee griped. Indiana Congressman Mike Pence complained that the entire session – with its discussion not just of impeachment but of legislative initiatives to address executive secrecy and overreach – caused him to worry about "the criminalization of American politics."
Addressing his remarks to Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich, the author of articles of impeachment against President Bush and Vice President Cheney that provoked Friday's hearing, Pence said, "I just believe the gentleman from Ohio is wrong."
Kucinich, who is not a member of the Judiciary Committee, stood his ground, arguing when he addressed the committee that a failure to impeach would not merely let Bush off the hook but signal to future presidents that they, too, may reject the rule of law and refuse to cooperate with Congress.
Several members of the committee were, if anything, more passionate in their remarks than Kucinich.
Georgia Democrat Hank Johnson told his colleagues that if they failed to act and President Bush authorized an illegal attack on Iran, they might look back on their dismissal on the neglect of their duty to check and balance an errant executive as a deadly mistake.
It was that sense of urgency that motivated committee member Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, to say explain that, "What this Congress does, or chooses not to do in furthering the investigation of the serious allegations against this administration – and if just cause is found, to hold them accountable – will impact the conduct of future presidents, perhaps for generations."
"Mr. Chairman," Baldwin continued, "there are those who would say that holding this hearing – examining whether or not the president and vice president broke the law – is frivolous. I not only reject this, I believe there is no task more important for this Congress than to seriously consider whether our nation's leaders have violated their oath of office. The American public expects no less. It is, after all, their Constitution. No president or congress has the authority to override that document, whereby ‘We the People' conferred upon the branches of government limited and defined power, and provided for meaningful checks and balances."
There can be no question at this late date in the Bush presidency that the issue of whether the American system will be characterized by "meaningful checks and balances" is at stake – and that goes to the heart of the matter of why Friday's hearing ought not be the end of a process but a beginning.
Even after George Bush and Dick Cheney have left the White House, the definition of the presidency that they have crafted will remain.

To read more: http://www.truthout.org/article/impeach ... step?print]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080724-000726 Action #2: Lobby members of the Judiciary Committtee to support full and formal impeachment hearings.

Please join us at Jim McDermott's office to urge him to do his part to prevent war in Iran and defend the constitution by impeaching GW Bush immediately. Bring your peaches and speeches.

On Friday, July 25, there will be hearings on impeachable offenses by the imperial president in the House Judiciary Committee. Please help Jim McDermott to cosign Articles of Impeachment or write his own resolution calling for full and formal impeachment hearings.

We will have signs and flyers for a meet and greet with the public on the streets downtown later.

If you are unable to join us, please call Jim McDermott's office to urge him to impeach Bush now. Seattle: 206-553-7170, Toll free D.C. 1-800828-0498

Seattle Office

1809 7th Avenue
Suite 1212
Seattle, WA 98101-1399
(206) 553-7170
(206) 553-7175 Fax

]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080721-224951 --John Chancellor, NBC News on a Special Report on October 20, 1973 --

Good news: On July 25th, at 10:00 a.m., the House Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on the impeachable offenses and abuses of power of the Bush administration. Dennis Kucinich and a panel of impeachment experts, possibly including Elizabeth Holtzman and Rocky Anderson, will present the case for impeachment. While these will not be full and formal impeachment hearings, I am encouraged that it is another step toward our goal of full impeachment hearings. With enough of a shove, they may vote to hold formal impeachment hearings next.

The hearing is scheduled for Friday, when many members of Congress head home. Please create a torrent of faxes, calls and emails to urge members of the House Judiciary Committee to attend the hearing, and to support the impeachment of GW Bush.

Our demands for impeachment this week can create irresistible pressure directly on the House Judiciary Committee. Please ask your friends and colleagues to send their faxes and forward this message.

-- We cannot allow any president to mislead congress and refuse subpoenas.
--Ask for nonpartisan statesmanship to defend the constitution and reassert the authority of congress.
--Ask to be contacted about whether or not the Rep. will attend the meeting on the 25th
--Thank them for honoring their oath of office
--The Judiciary Committee has held numerous hearings about violations of the constitution. They need to stop talking about it and ACT.


Take Action for Accountability! Some Very Simple Actions to Take Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

You can FAX the entire Judiciary Committee: 202-225-7680

You can leave a phone message for the entire committee: 202-225-3951

You can e-mail the entire House Judiciary Committee here: http://judiciary.house.gov/about/contact.html

For more information about the Judiciary Committee, subcommittees and members:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/cgi-b ... ;plusfour=


Here's a sample message to the House Judiciary Committee:


Honorable Committee Members,

I urge every member of the House Judiciary Committee to attend the hearing on impeachable offenses of GW Bush on July 25th, and to support full impeachment hearings for GW Bush.

The Committee must not allow any president to mislead Congress and refuse subpoenas.

This nation needs your nonpartisan statesmanship to defend the constitution and reassert the authority of Congress.

Thank you for honoring your oath to defend the US Constitution by voting to initiate impeachment to call President Bush to account.

Name
Address

Thank you,
Linda
]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080721-112413 Submitted by davidswanson on Mon, 2008-07-21
UPDATE 2: They may try to cut Liz Holtzman out too.

UPDATE: They've cut Ralph Nader out. They have explained that they didn't want too many pro-impeachment voices and decided Rocky Anderson would be better and could represent Nader's viewpoint.

That's the latest title that Chairman John Conyers has given the hearing his House Judiciary Committee will hold on Friday, July 25th. The previous title had been "The Imperial Presidency of George W. Bush and Possible Legal Responses." The idea that had preceded that one was to hold a hearing on Congressman Dennis Kucinich's latest article of impeachment: "DECEIVING CONGRESS WITH FABRICATED THREATS OF IRAQ WMDs TO FRAUDULENTLY OBTAIN SUPPORT FOR AN AUTHORIZATION OF THE USE OF MILITARY FORCE AGAINST IRAQ."

The problem with that initial idea, of course, was that impeachment is opposed by Nancy Pelosi who recently explained that she's against it because she's "bipartisan", and by Barack Obama, who says it should be "reserved for exceptional circumstances", and by John Conyers who claims that if he upheld the Constitution Fox News would call him mean names, not to mention Harold Ford who alleges that "The Constitution doesn't poll well," and Cass Sunstein who argues against ever holding Bush or Cheney to account for anything, and Chuck Schumer who insists that voters don't care about detentions and torture and such things.

On top of that problem with impeachment, there was the problem of the war. The Congress that was elected in 2006 to end the war, expose the truth of its origin, and hold people accountable for it has very carefully avoided holding any hearings on the topic. During the previous Congress, Barbara Lee led a push along with Kucinich to investigate the White House Iraq Group. I asked her early in 2007 why she wouldn't do the same in the majority, and she claimed, rather half-heartedly, that she would do so, but never has.

The problem with the second name for the hearing was perhaps what I pointed out last week: it's oxymoronic. If you're going to have an imperial presidency, why not a presidential emperor? And since when has it become acceptable to acknowledge the empire in the halls of Congress? People could begin questioning why we pay to maintain a half million soldiers in 1,000 bases in 150 countries at great expense and to the serious endangerment of ourselves, generating resentment and hatred around the globe.

So the third title was arrived at: "Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations." This handily avoids any reference to Bush or Cheney or impeachment or war or empire. And yet it's that much more absurd, since we have no executive and really do have an imperial co-presidency. And then there's the Constitution problem. The Constitution brings up impeachment in six places but never once mentions censure. Never does the Constitution propose a remedy of redundantly recriminalizing crimes once a criminal president is out of office. Never does the Constitution mention political parties or loyalty to them. Never does the Constitution place the election of an excutive ahead of the importance of maintaining an executive rather than a king. It's very hard to imagine how several of the speakers Conyers hopes to have on Friday, on the topics he wants them to discuss, are going to be able to fit the Constitution into their remarks.

Here's the lineup, give or take:

Rumor has it there are two (maybe three) panels being planned for the hearing, one consisting of Kucinich and four other members of Congress (Jane Harman, Walter Jones, Brad Miller, and Maurice Hinchey), and the other consisting of non-Congress Members (Elizabeth Holtzman, Bruce Fein, Frederick Schwartz, John Dean, Bob Barr, Ralph Nader, Rocky Anderson).

These speakers can be expected to favor impeachment:
Dennis Kucinich
Elizabeth Holtzman
Ralph Nader
Maybe Bruce Fein

These speakers can be expected to favor impeachment and other supposed solutions:
Maurice Hinchey
Rocky Anderson
Maybe Walter Jones

These speakers can be expected to spit on the Constitution:
Jane Harman
Brad Miller
Frederick Schwartz
John Dean
Bob Barr

These members of the House Judiciary Committee can be expected to speak for impeachment:
Robert Wexler
Sheila Jackson-Lee
Tammy Baldwin
Keith Ellison
Steve Cohen
Hank Johnson
Maxine Waters
Luis Gutierrez
Anthony Weiner
Maybe Zoe Lofgren

But, all of the above is subject to change and subject to public pressure as well as pressure from Pelosi-Conyers. If you know any of the scheduled speakers, please urge them to renounce good-Germanism, please urge them to read the Constitution on which they are being asked to testify.

And please contact the members of the Judiciary Committee and insist that they be there on Friday the 25th and that they speak up for impeachment:
http://afterdowningstreet.org/judiciarycommittee

And please get in line very early Friday morning to attend the hearing! (Rayburn Room 2141, 10 a.m) or join us in front of the Rayburn Building at 9 a.m. Bring impeachment shirts and posters! For more information contact ningroup@gmail.com

If you can't be there on Friday, please freeway blog the word IMPEACH everywhere you can that day:
http://www.freewayblogger.com


Whether you can be there or not, please take these steps between now and Friday:

Contact your member of Congress in support of impeachment.
http://afterdowningstreet.org/bushaction

Ask the media to cover the hearing. And ask them to please ask Pelosi and Conyers to respond to this question: Can you name one thing that WOULD constitute an impeachable offense?
http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/1084

Sign the petition at Congressman Kucinich's website.
http://impeachment.kucinich.us/petition]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080719-084426 We have one week, until July 25, to lobby hard for impeachment hearings. We've got the Judiciary Committee, we've got Articles of Impeachment, we've got permission for Kucinich to make his case.

Please contact the members of the Judiciary Committee and insist that attend the hearing Friday the 25th and that they speak up in support of impeachment:

Leave a message for John Conyers and members of the House Judiciary Committee: 202-225-3951.


Impeachment Kabuki Theater is playing in the House Judiciary Committee. We are closer now to impeachment hearings than ever, EXCEPT John Conyers announced that the hearings on July 25th, will be about "the Imperial Presidency of George W. Bush and possible legal responses," NOT IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS!

Dennis Kucinich kept his word, and introduced yet another Article of Impeachment against Bush -- all about how Bush mislead congress about reasons to attack Iraq.

Nancy Pelosi shifted her "impeachment is off the table" position to 'there will be a review of the impeachment bill in the Judiciary Committee.'

David Swanson writes: "The hearing was then scheduled for a Friday (July 25) and scheduled to last a full two-hours (10 a.m. to noon). Then the topic was altered. Rather than being about impeachment, the hearing will be about impeachment and other supposed remedies to a lawless presidency, with the bulk of the time devoted to those other remedies. Most of those other remedies will involve, believe it or not, legislative proposals. Thus, the dererrence to future presidents who follow the Bush-Cheney tradition of violating all laws and checks on power will be the knowledge that during the administration following Bush-Cheney some bills were passed criminalizing what had always been criminal activity." http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/34899


To read more: A Win is a Win, by Dave Lindorff http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/print/34806


1. The Judiciary Committee is going to have hearings on July 25, NOT impeachment hearings, they are calling them a "review of abuse of power." I see it as a foot in the door. Dennis Kucinich will be allowed to present his case for impeachment to the committee. They may not be able to control what happens when the public sees the case for impeachment on air.

2. Bush is claiming "executive privilege" on CIA leak.

3. Karl Rove is giving subpoenas and contempt charges the middle finger.
3a) Rep. Linda Sanchez (no liberal and member of Judiciary Committee) has had it, and wrote, "Why Karl Rove Should go to Jail"

4. Bush gave Israel the "amber light" for an attack on Iran, meaning it's not permission to bomb, but they can prepare and wait for the signal to start. With the Iraq occupation funded well into the next term, it's imperative that we impeach before the decider gets his way in Iran too.

Many people are saying that Congress should not leave DC for summer recess, because Bush and Cheney would be left alone to their mischief. Better that members of congress lock themselves into an air conditioned chamber and hold impeachment hearings, no?

Washington for Impeachment has had two long meetings with Jim McDermott's staff to urge Jim to cosign Kucinich's AOI or to write on of his own. James Allen offered that Jim McD understands and supports us, but prioritizes his domestic legislative agenda. On Thursday, about 19 of us met for 90 minutes to say that impeachment trumps all other issues and is imperative if we want to prevent war in Iran.

McDermott has said that he would impeach if Bush attacks Iran. WFI is asking people deluge his office with calls to urge him to impeach BEFORE an attack on Iran.

Jim McDermott's office:
809 7th Avenue (at Olive)
Suite 1212
Seattle, WA 98101-1399
(206) 553-7170
(206) 553-7175 Fax

Toll free to DC switchboard to connect to any member of congress: 1-800-828-0498, 1-800-788-9372
Leave a message for John Conyers and House Judiciary Committee to open impeachment hearings now: 202-225-3951

Please tell Jim McDermott that any legislation he is working on is INSTEAD of impeachment to restore the constitution. It's not too late, Richard Nixon stepped down only 12 days after Articles of Impeachment were approved in the House Judiciary Committee.

We must insist that Congress use every tool available to prevent a conflagration in Iran.

Onward to impeachment.
Linda Boyd
]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080719-065225
Dear Friends,

Rep. Kucinich kept his word, and brought forward another Article of Impeachment against GW Bush. Now there will be hearings, but wait... they are not exactly impeachment hearings. Conyers is calling it a review of the "imperial presidency." Read more here:http://www.washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php

Please join us for a "HONK TO IMPEACH" roadside blogging event for peace and impeachment on Saturday, July 19, 12-2 p.m., Bellevue Way and NE 8th Street in downtown Bellevue. We will provide flyers about Articles of Impeachment Against George Bush and signs to hold.

Please make a ruckus for impeachment this week. Call John Conyers and members of the House Judiciary Committee: 202-225-3951. Urge them to attend the hearings on July 25th and to speak up for impeachment.

Please call members of Congress to demand that they enforce the constitution. Toll free: 1-800-828-0498, 1-800-788-9372

Psst, impeachment is on the table. Spread the word,


]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080718-160126
By David Swanson

In response to public demand for impeachment hearings and pressure from Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Congressman Robert Wexler, and others, as well as electoral challenges by pro-impeachment candidates, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally caved and proposed to allow Kucinich to present impeachment in a Judiciary Committee hearing.

The hearing was then scheduled for a Friday (July 25) and scheduled to last a full two-hours (10 a.m. to noon). Then the topic was altered. Rather than being about impeachment, the hearing will be about impeachment and other supposed remedies to a lawless presidency, with the bulk of the time devoted to those other remedies. Most of those other remedies will involve, believe it or not, legislative proposals. Thus, the dererrence to future presidents who follow the Bush-Cheney tradition of violating all laws and checks on power will be the knowledge that during the administration following Bush-Cheney some bills were passed criminalizing what had always been criminal activity.

Rumor has it there are two panels being planned for the hearing, one consisting of Kucinich and four other members of Congress (Jane Harman, Walter Jones, Brad Miller, and Maurice Hinchey), and the other consisting of five non-Congress Members (Elizabeth Holtzman, Bruce Fein, Frederick Schwartz, John Dean, and Bob Barr). Each of these speakers will likely have 5 minutes for opening remarks. So, Kucinich's presentation of the impeachable offenses of 7.5 years will be limited to 5 minutes. The hope of those planning this afair will be to bury impeachment.

Here's why they'll fail. Holtzman and Fein -- and Kucinich -- are among the most persuasive advocates for impeachment alive. At least those three speakers, it is safe to assume, will be standing up for our Constitution. Another you can add to that list is commmittee member Robert Wexler. Others are committee members Shiela Jackson-Lee and Tammy Baldwin. It is safe to assume that these members will direct their questioning to the need for impeachment and the advocates of beginning it.

Other supporters of impeachment on the committee are Keith Ellison, Steve Cohen, Hank Johnson, and Maxine Waters, as well as Luis Gutierrez and Anthony Weiner. Zoe Lofgren is also likely to speak up for impeachment. And those in the room as audience will be overwhelmingly defenders of our Constitution. But you can help defend it without coming to Washington. Here's how:

Contact the members of the Judiciary Committee and insist that they be there on Friday the 25th and that they speak up for impeachment:
http://afterdowningstreet.org/judiciarycommittee]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080718-134217 REP. LINDA SANCHEZ

Why Karl Rove Should Go To Jail
Posted July 17, 2008 | 05:07 PM (EST)

Again last week, we saw the arrogance of former White House advisor Karl Rove when an empty chair sat for him in front of the House Judiciary subcommittee where he was required by subpoena to testify. Not only did he refuse to appear before the committee -- let alone testify -- but he defiantly left the country thereby blatantly ignoring his obligations under the congressional subpoena served on him. When he did return to the country, Rove found the time to gab with TV reporters on a summer press tour in Beverly Hills, but failed to stop by the Judiciary Committee in Washington.

After my ruling that Mr. Rove's claims of immunity are not legally valid, Congressman Conyers and I gave him one last chance to comply with the law. He ignored us. As he let yet another deadline slip by this week, Mr. Rove's disregard for Congress has become intolerable. Mr. Rove needs to understand that he is not above the law and should obey a subpoena just like any other American is required to do.

Mr. Rove should not be able to hide behind the president to avoid the American public. Americans are fed up with this administration flouting the law. They expect Congress to hold people accountable and that is exactly what we intend to do. Letting Mr. Rove get away with this would set a dangerous precedent. I have recommended that we hold Mr. Rove in contempt of Congress. If we need to revive the inherent contempt procedure which gives Congress the authority to arrest those who defy Congressional subpoenas, then so be it.

The courts have made clear that no one, not even the president, is immune from compulsory process. Any person who scoffs at the law and who has committed an offense that is punishable by jail time should be put in jail. This includes Karl Rove.

Congresswoman Linda T. Sánchez is the Chairwoman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. She represents the 39th Congressional District of California.]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080716-133548 Submitted by davidswanson on Wed, 2008-07-16 13:56. Activism Congress Impeachment
Congressman John Conyers has informed Veterans for Peace that he will hold the hearing we've been pushing for at 10 a.m. on Friday the 25th of July. He has not yet confirmed that publicly, but another member of the Judiciary Committee has confirmed it to me. Our job is to make it as much as possible an impeachment hearing and then to insist on a real impeachment hearing. The 9% Congress will only hurt itself by advertising Bush and Cheney's crimes together with their own failure to move impeachment forward. Impeachment would revitalize Congress and even the Democratic Party, and it's our job to make that crystal clear. Read Dave Lindorff's take on this: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/34806

]]> http://washingtonforimpeachment.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry080715-163008
IMPEACHMENT DAY at Jim McDermott's Office, Thursday, July 17, 2008
We simply cannot wait any longer. Please join citizens from around the state at Jim McDermott's office to urge him to do his part to prevent war in Iran by impeaching GW Bush immediately. Bring your peaches and speeches.

We can thank Jim McDermott for his recent votes against telecom immunity and more war funding. The top item on the national agenda is impeachment. Without a working constitution we have nothing.

Bring your signs and props for a little walk later in the day.

Seattle Office

1809 7th Avenue
Suite 1212
Seattle, WA 98101-1399
(206) 553-7170
(206) 553-7175 Fax

Peace through impeachment. Now.
Linda Boyd


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