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On June 10, 2008, Congressman [[Dennis Kucinich]], along with co-sponsor [[Robert Wexler]], introduced 35 [[articles of impeachment]].<ref>H. Res. 1258, 110th Cong. (2008).</ref> against President George W. Bush to the U.S. House of Representatives.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2008/06/impeach_bush_wexler_says.html|title=Impeach Bush, Wexler says|accessdate=2008-06-10|publisher=South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com|date=June 10, 2008|first=Anthony |last=Man}}</ref> The House voted 251 to 166 to refer the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee on July 25, where no further action was taken on it.<ref>http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HE01258:@@@X</ref>
On June 10, 2008, Congressman [[Dennis Kucinich]], along with co-sponsor [[Robert Wexler]], introduced 35 [[articles of impeachment]].<ref>H. Res. 1258, 110th Cong. (2008).</ref> against President George W. Bush to the U.S. House of Representatives.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2008/06/impeach_bush_wexler_says.html|title=Impeach Bush, Wexler says|accessdate=2008-06-10|publisher=South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com|date=June 10, 2008|first=Anthony |last=Man}}</ref> The House voted 251 to 166 to refer the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee on July 25, where no further action was taken on it.<ref>http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HE01258:@@@X</ref>


Former U.S. Attorney General [[Ramsey Clark]], the [[International Action Center]] and [[A.N.S.W.E.R.]] also campaigned to impeach, and now indict, George W. Bush for war crimes. Some related web sites are [[votetoimpeach.org]], impeachbush.org and indictbushnow.org.
Former U.S. Attorney General [[Ramsey Clark]], the [[International Action Center]] and [[A.N.S.W.E.R.]] also campaigned to impeach, and now indict, George W. Bush for war crimes. Some related web sites are [[votetoimpeach]].org, impeachbush.org and indictbushnow.org.


==Rationales for impeachment==
==Rationales for impeachment==

Revision as of 14:02, 30 August 2009

"HR24" redirects here. For the star, see Kappa Sculptoris.
In September 2007, a protester in Boston urges rush hour drivers to 'honk' in support of the impeachment of President George W. Bush.
File:BushProtest.jpg
A protester in support of the impeachment of President George W. Bush, holding a sign referencing the Monica Lewinsky scandal of the late 1990s which led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton.

The movement to impeach George W. Bush was a social movement which unsuccessfully sought the impeachment of United States President George W. Bush.

A Canadian research firm's poll in 2007 showed U.S. public support ranging between 46% and 55% opposed to impeaching the President, and between 39% and 45% in favor.[1]

On June 10, 2008, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, along with co-sponsor Robert Wexler, introduced 35 articles of impeachment.[2] against President George W. Bush to the U.S. House of Representatives.[3] The House voted 251 to 166 to refer the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee on July 25, where no further action was taken on it.[4]

Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, the International Action Center and A.N.S.W.E.R. also campaigned to impeach, and now indict, George W. Bush for war crimes. Some related web sites are votetoimpeach.org, impeachbush.org and indictbushnow.org.

Rationales for impeachment

Proponents of impeaching Bush asserted that one or more of his actions qualify as "high crimes and misdemeanors" under which the president can constitutionally be impeached.[5]

This section collates a list of pro-impeachment advocates' rationales as suggested by commentators, legal analysts, members of the Democratic Party, the Center for Constitutional Rights,[6] and others. However, since impeachment is inherently political, and not a legal process, there is no exact definition of what constitutes an impeachable offense (other than treason or bribery). Therefore, this list is not necessarily accurate. Simply stated, it is up to Congress to determine if something rises to the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors."

2003 invasion of Iraq

Further information: 2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the most substantial portion of the articles of impeachment introduced by Kucinich and Wexler. 15 of the 35 articles directly relate to alleged misconduct by Bush in seeking authority for the war, and in the conduct of military action itself. Five other articles address allegations partially or tertiarily relating to the war, including the "outing" of Valerie Plame, treatment of prisoners (both in Iraq and from operations in Afghanistan and other countries), and building a case for Iran being a threat based in part on alleging Iranian actions in Iraq.

Constitutionality of invasion

In February and March 2003, John Bonifaz served as lead counsel for a coalition of US soldiers, their parents, and members of Congress in John Doe I v. President Bush,[7] a constitutional challenge to Bush’s authority to wage war against Iraq absent a congressional declaration of war or equivalent action. Bonifaz argued in court that Bush's planned first-strike invasion of Iraq violated the War Powers Clause of the US Constitution.[8] As a corollary to his lawsuit, Bonifaz has argued publicly and in writing that Bush should be impeached for this. However, Bonifaz's lawsuit was dismissed in February 2003 and, in March 2003, the dismissal was upheld on appeal. Regarding the dismissal, Bonifaz said:

"They’re not supposed to sideline... Courts cannot shirk from responsibility when it looks like a political battle."[9]

Regarding the affirmation of the dismissal, the First Circuit Court of Appeals held:

"...the text of the October Resolution itself spells out justifications for a war and frames itself as an 'authorization' of such a war."[10]

Francis Boyle, a professor of international law at the University of Illinois also uses this argument as reason in his Draft Impeachment Resolution.[11]

Justification for invasion

Further information: Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, Downing Street memo, Bush-Blair memo, Legitimacy of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and Bush-Aznar memo

Furthermore, the arguments put forward for the invasion of Iraq[12] — the continued possession and development of weapons of mass destruction and active links to al Qaeda — have been found to be false, according to all official reports.[13][14] A report by the Defense Department in 2007 conclusively stated the claimed working relationship with Al Qaeda did not exist. As the Washington Post described it:

"the intelligence community's prewar consensus [was] that the Iraqi government and al-Qaeda figures had only limited contacts, and ... that reports of deeper links were based on dubious or unconfirmed information."[15]

The Bush administration advocated that this was due to failure by the intelligence community. However, it has become clear that, prior to the invasion, these arguments had already been widely disputed,[16] in intelligence reports which should have been seen by the Bush administration. An in-depth investigation into the nature of these discrepancies by the Senate Intelligence Committee has been frustrated. A New York Times editorial states:

Mr. Roberts (chairman of the Senate panel) tried to kill the investigation entirely, and after the Democrats forced him to proceed, he set rules that seem a lot like the recipe for a whitewash.[17]

Supporters of impeachment argue that the administration knowingly distorted intelligence reports or ignored contrary information in constructing their case for the war.[18][19] The Downing Street memo and the Bush-Blair memo are used to substantiate that allegation.[20] Congressional Democrats sponsored both a request for documents and a resolution of inquiry.[21] A report by the Post on April 12, 2006, corroborates that view. It states that the Bush administration advocated that two small trailers which had been found in Iraq were "biological laboratories," despite the fact that U.S. intelligence officials possessed evidence to the contrary at that time.

"The three-page field report and a 122-page final report published three weeks later were stamped "secret" and shelved. Meanwhile, for nearly a year, administration and intelligence officials continued to publicly assert that the trailers were weapons factories."[22]

U.N. Charter

Further information: UN Charter, War of aggression, Jus ad bellum, and Legitimacy of the 2003 invasion of Iraq

By Article VI of the Constitution, Senate-ratified treaties such as the U.N. Charter are "the supreme Law of the Land." John Conyers, Robert Parry and Marjorie Cohn– professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, executive vice president of the National Lawyers Guild, and the U.S. representative to the executive committee of the American Association of Jurists – assert that this was not a war in self-defense but a war of aggression contrary to the U.N. Charter (a crime against peace) and therefore a war crime.[23][11] Also, Kofi Annan called the war in Iraq a violation of the UN Charter. A war of aggression refers to any war not initiated out of self-defence or sanctioned by the UN. Such a violation of international law would constitute an impeachable offense according to Francis Boyle, John W. Dean, from FindLaw, Marcus Raskin and Joseph A. Vuckovich, from the Institute for Policy Studies.[11][24]

NSA warrantless surveillance controversy

Further information: NSA warrantless surveillance controversy and Separation of powers

In the context of the "War on Terrorism", Bush ordered the wiretapping of certain international calls to and from the U.S. without a warrant. The program's critics contend that this violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which was adopted to remedy similar actions in the past (e.g. Operation Shamrock, Operation Minaret). They also allege that it violated the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.[25] In its defense, the Bush administration asserted that FISA did not apply as the President was authorized by the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) and the presidential powers as Commander-in-Chief inherent in the Constitution, to bypass FISA.[26] In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the Supreme Court majority held that neither the AUMF nor the president's role as Commander-in-Chief trumps explicit federal law, in this case the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Treatment of detainees

Further information: Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse, Bagram torture and prisoner abuse, United Nations Convention Against Torture, Geneva Conventions, and Command responsibility

As part of the war on terrorism, several memos[27] were written analyzing the legal position and possibilities in the treatment of prisoners. The memos, known today as the "torture memos",[by whom?] advocate enhanced interrogation techniques, but point out that refuting the Geneva Conventions would reduce the possibility of prosecution for war crimes.[28] In addition, a new definition of torture was issued. Most actions that fall under the international definition do not fall within this new definition advocated by the U.S.[29]

Several top military lawyers, including Alberto J. Mora, reported that policies allowing methods equivalent to torture were officially handed down from the highest levels of the administration, and led an effort within the Department of Defense to put a stop to those policies and instead mandate non-coercive interrogation standards.[30][unreliable source?]

Notwithstanding the suggestion of official policy, the administration repeatedly assured critics that the publicised cases were incidents, and Bush later stated that:

"The United States of America does not torture. And that's important for people around the world to understand."[31]

The administration adopted the Detainee Treatment Act to address incidents of detainee abuse. However, in his signing statement, Bush made clear that he reserved the right to waive this bill if he thought that was needed.[32]

Over the years numerous incidents have been made public and a UN report denounced the abuse of prisoners as tantamount to torture.[33] Conyers has advocated investigating these abuses to see if they violate the Geneva Conventions and are thus cause for impeachment, while Boyle, Holtzman, and Veterans for Peace hold that violating these laws is grounds for impeachment.[11][34]

Several legal analysts — such as Holtzman, Marjorie Cohn, and Human Rights First — have advocated that writing the so-called "torture memos", not preventing or stopping the abuse could result in legal challenges involving war crimes[11] under the command responsibility.[35] This view was confirmed when the US Supreme Court ruled in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that, contrary to what the Bush administration advocated, the Third Geneva Convention (regarding the treatment of prisoners) applies to all detainees in the war on terrorism and as such the Military Tribunals used to try suspects were violating the law. The Court reaffirmed that those involved in mistreatment of detainees violate US and international law.

On May 19, 2006, the United Nations Convention Against Torture issued a report stating the U.S. should stop what it concluded was "ill-treatment" of detainees, since such treatment, according to the report, violated international law. It also calls for cessation of the US-termed "enhanced interrogation techniques", as the UN sees these methods as a form of torture. The UN report also admonishes against secret prisons, the use of which, is considered to amount to torture as well and should be discontinued.[36]

Political views and actions

Democrats in Congress

John Conyers, who had previously advocated the impeachment of George W. Bush, called for an investigation of the President in 2005.

On June 16, 2005 Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) assembled an unofficial meeting to discuss the Downing Street memo and to consider grounds for impeachment.

Conyers filed a resolution on December 18, 2005 to create an investigative committee to consider impeachment. His resolution gained 38 co-sponsors before it expired at the end of the 109th Congress. He did not reintroduce a similar resolution for the 110th Congress.[37]

Keith Ellison was the leading figure behind the resolution to impeach Bush brought to the Minnesota State House of Representatives in May 2006.[38] Ellison was elected to the United States House of Representatives in November 2006. During the campaign and when he was named to the House Judiciary Committee, Ellison repeatedly called for an investigation into a possible impeachment.[39] In support of his candidacy, he “received a $1,000 contribution from ImpeachPAC”.[40] Later, on April 22, 2007, Ellison met with constituents and listed new conditions for his support for impeachment hearings, such as verifiable facts and the backing of a majority of the American people.[41]

At another unofficial hearing convened by Conyers on January 20, 2006, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) called for the committee to explore whether Bush should face impeachment, stemming from his decision to authorize domestic surveillance without court review.

On May 10, 2006, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) indicated she was not interested in pursuing impeachment and had taken it "off the table", reiterating this phrase on November 8, 2006.[42][43] In July 2007, Pelosi stated that she "would probably advocate" impeaching Bush if she were not in the House nor Speaker of the House.[44]

On December 8, 2006 (the last day of the 109th Congress), then-Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) submitted a resolution, H. Res. 1106. The bill expired along with the 109th Congress.[45]

John Conyers brought up the subject of impeachment on the July 8, 2007 broadcast of This Week with George Stephanopoulos,[46] stating:

"We're hoping that as the cries for the removal of both Cheney and Bush now reach 46 percent and 58 percent, respectively, for impeachment, that we could begin to become a little bit more cooperative, if not even amicable, in trying to get to the truth of these matters."

Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich's major point in the Democratic Presidential Debate on October 30, 2007 was that Bush and Cheney should be impeached for the Iraq war.[47][48] On November 6, 2007, Kucinich introduced a resolution to impeach Vice President Cheney in the House of Representatives.[49]

In November 2007, Joe Biden, then a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, stated that he would move to impeach if President Bush bombs Iran without first gaining congressional approval.[50] However, no such bombing occurred during the rest of Bush's term (with or without congressional approval).

In December 2007, Congressman Robert Wexler started a website to promote impeachment hearings against Vice President Cheney.

On June 9, 2008, Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), introduced a resolution, H.Res. 1258, to impeach president George W. Bush, which included 35 counts in the articles of impeachment. At the end of the evening on June 10, Kucinich offered a motion to refer HRes 1258 to the House Judiciary Committee. On June 11, the House voted 251-166 to send the resolution to the Committee.[51]

On July 14, 2008, Kucinich introduced a new impeachment resolution (H.Res. 1345) limited to a single count.

State-level Democratic party actions

On March 21, 2006 the New Mexico Democratic Party, at a convention in Albuquerque, adopted a plank to their platform saying “the Democratic Party of New Mexico supports the impeachment of George Bush and his lawful removal from office.”[52]

On March 24, 2007, the Vermont Democratic State Committee voted to support JRH 15, a state legislative resolution supporting impeachment, calling for its passage as "appropriate action."[53][dead link‍][54]

On April 28, 2007, the California Democratic Convention passed a resolution for impeachment.

On January 2, 2008, Betty Hall (D), an 87-year-old, fourteen-term State Representative, introduced New Hampshire House Resolution 24 in the State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs Committee of the New Hampshire House of Representatives.[55] The resolution was "petitioning Congress to commence impeachment procedures" against Bush and Cheney for "high crimes and misdemeanors", including domestic spying, illegal detentions, signing statements, electioneering, the breaking of international treaties, and war crimes.[56] The bill further asserted that "section 603 of Jefferson's Manual of Parliamentary Practice states that an impeachment may be set in motion by the United States House of Representatives by charges transmitted from the legislature of a state".[56]

On February 20, 2008, the bill was ruled "Inexpedient to Legislate" to pass by a 10 to 5 vote within committee, which passed the resolution on to the full House for a vote.[55] The bill was tabled in the New Hampshire House of Representatives on April 16, 2008.[55] After three efforts to have the bill removed from the table were unsuccessful, it died on the table on September 24, 2008.[55]

Rallies and marches

An anti-Iraq war protest march in Washington, D.C. on September 24, 2005 attracted over 100,000 people. The march among other things included calls for impeachment and for investigations leading to impeachment.[57]

On November 2, 2005, The World Can't Wait mobilized marches across the country that called for the ousting of Bush.[58]

References

  1. ^ "Two-in-Five Americans Would Impeach Bush". Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  2. ^ H. Res. 1258, 110th Cong. (2008).
  3. ^ Man, Anthony (June 10, 2008). "Impeach Bush, Wexler says". South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
  4. ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HE01258:@@@X
  5. ^ Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment originally Web-posted by House Judiciary Committee member Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.)
  6. ^ Impeaching George W. Bush By Onnesha Roychoudhuri, AlterNet, March 6, 2006.
  7. ^ John Doe I v. President Bush
  8. ^ Suit challenges Bush war authority CNN
  9. ^ Judge Dismisses HLS Alum’s Suit Against Bush By Kate A. Tiskus, The Harvard Crimson, February 25 2003
  10. ^ Opionion of First Circuit Court of Appeal in DOE v. Bush
  11. ^ a b c d e Draft Impeachment Resolution Against President George W. Bush, 108nd Congress H.Res.XX, by Francis A. Boyle, professor of law, University of Illinois School of Law, January 17 2003 Cite error: The named reference "Boyle" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  12. ^ Bush administration has used 27 rationales for war in Iraq, study says by Andrea Lynn, the News Bureau of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  13. ^ Weapons of Mass Destruction
  14. ^ Link with Al Qaeda
  15. ^ Hussein's Prewar Ties To Al-Qaeda Discounted - Pentagon Report Says Contacts Were Limited By R. Jeffrey Smith, W@ashington Post, April 6, 2007
  16. ^ Blowing Cheney's Cover Ray McGovern, April 10 2006
  17. ^ The Intelligence Business editorial, The New York Times, May 7 2006
  18. ^ Selectively disseminating information
  19. ^ Misrepresenting the facts surrounding Iraq
  20. ^ Downing Street memo
  21. ^ FOIA request
  22. ^ "Biological laboratories"
  23. ^ The Constitution in Crisis; The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Coverups in the Iraq War[dead link‍] Investigative Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff
  24. ^ Iraq impeachable offense?
  25. ^ What the President Ordered in This Case Was a Crime by John Nichols, The Nation, January 23, 2006
  26. ^ Legal Authorities Supporting the Activities of the National Security Agency Described by the President U.S. Department of Justice, January 19, 2006
  27. ^ The Interrogation Documents: Debating U.S. Policy and Methods the memos written as part of the war on terrorism
  28. ^ War crimes warning
  29. ^ Judge's anger at US torture by Richard Norton-Taylor and Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, February 17, 2006
  30. ^ Torture as policy?
  31. ^ We don't torture
  32. ^ U.S. Cites Exception in Torture Ban McCain Law May Not Apply to Cuba Prison, By Josh White and Carol D. Leonnig, Washington Post, March 3, 2006
  33. ^ UN calls for Guantanamo closure BBC, Read the full UN report into Guantanamo Bay, February 16, 2006
  34. ^ Impeachment for violating the Geneva Conventions
  35. ^ Accountability
  36. ^ UN Committee against Torture report
  37. ^ H.RES.635 - Creating a select committee to investigate the Administration's intent to go to war before congressional authorization, manipulation of pre-war intelligence, encouraging and countenancing torture, retaliating against critics, and to make recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment Sponsor: Rep Conyers, John, Jr. (introduced December 18, 2005)
  38. ^ Wilson, Conrad (2006-12-08). "The Insurgent". {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Retrieved January 27, 2007
  39. ^ Pugmire, Tim (2006-08-09). "Ellison compares Bush to Nixon". Minnesota Public Radio. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Retrieved January 27, 2007
  40. ^ Hotakainen, Rob (2007-01-25). "Will Ellison pursue impeachment? Not for now, he says". Star Tribune. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)[dead link‍] Retrieved January 27, 2007
  41. ^ Rudolph, Mikael (April 23, 2007). ""Impeachment Should Be on the Table": Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)".
  42. ^ Democrats Won't Try to Impeach President by Charles Babington, Washington Post, 12 May 2006
  43. ^ Pelosi Says Democrats Are Ready to Lead by NANCY ZUCKERBROD, Associated Press, 8 November 2006
  44. ^ Ari Berman:Why Pelosi Opposes Impeachment. The Nation, 07/31/2007
  45. ^ Evans, Ben (2006-12-08). "McKinney Introduces Bill to Impeach Bush". Associated Press (via breitbart.com). {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)[dead link‍]
  46. ^ clip of Rep. Conyers on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, YouTube
  47. ^ Spillius, Alex (2 November 2007). "US presidential candidate insists he saw UFO". Philadelphia: Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  48. ^ "Poll: Vermont Wants Bush, Cheney Impeached, Nearly Two-Thirds Of State's Likely Voters Want President, VP Removed Before Term Ends - CBS News". Cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  49. ^ CLAFFEY, JASON. "Dover NH, Rochester NH, Portsmouth NH, Laconia NH, Sanford ME". DURHAM: Fosters.com. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  50. ^ Leech, Adam. "Biden: Impeachment if Bush bombs Iran". Seacoastonline.com. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  51. ^ "Impeaching George W. Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors". Thomas.loc.gov. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  52. ^ Jones, Jeff (2006-03-21). "N.M. Dems Call For Bush's Exit". Retrieved 2007-01-27.
  53. ^ "Vermont towns seek to impeach Bush", by Jason Szep, ABC News, 7 March 2007.
  54. ^ Vermont: 36 towns call for impeachment probe of president, by Shay Totten & Christian Avard Vermont Guardian, March 6, 2007.
  55. ^ a b c d Docket of HR24, New Hampshire General Court - Bill Status System.
  56. ^ a b HR 24 – AS INTRODUCED, NH General Court - Bill Status System.
  57. ^ "Anti-War Protesters March On D.C., Police Estimate Event Drew 100,000 Demonstrators". WASHINGTON: Associated Press. September 24, 2005. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  58. ^ Conroy, Scott. "Anti-Bush Protests In NYC, Organization Calls For Putting An End To The Bush Administration -". New York: CBS News. Retrieved 2008-10-27.

Further reading

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