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Making A Case For Impeachment
Impeachment is the constitutional remedy for extremely serious offenses that pose major threats to our democratic form of government. Maine Lawyers for Democracy, a statewide group of 65 lawyers, after careful analysis, has published a detailed report concluding the Bush-Cheney Administration's actions rise to this level.
The president and vice president must be held accountable. Impeachment is the Constitution's mechanism for accountability. Our representatives in Congress and the Maine Legislature must play their role in this process.
What has the administration done that is so radically wrong? Which of the continuing parade of untruths, scandals and abuses of power are so outrageous that they demand impeachment?
Foremost, the president and vice president misled this nation into the Iraq war and commenced the war in clear violation of law. They deceived Congress and the public about the "imminent threat" posed by Iraq.
Considerable evidence demonstrates that the decision to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein's government was made by the summer of 2002. The Downing Street memorandum, prepared by the head of Britain's intelligence service after a secret Washington meeting, revealed that the "intelligence and the facts were being fixed around the policy" of invading Iraq.
The American public and the Congress were the target of a very emotional and high-stakes sales pitch. The president, the vice president and administration officials spoke repeatedly of the grave threat posed by Iraq's alleged links to Al-Qaeda, and its possession of weapons of mass destruction, even evoking images of a mushroom cloud.
We now know that the intelligence upon which the administration's claims were based was neither solid nor credible in the eyes of professional analysts who were not influenced by the intense pressure applied by the White House.
These actions constitute not simply lying to Congress (which is itself a crime), and, quite possibly, a conspiracy to defraud the United States (also a crime), but abuse of power of the most extreme and serious kind, directly threatening the integrity of our constitutional system and the rule of law.
In addition, the commencement of such an unprovoked war violates the U.N. Charter and the Nuremberg Charter, both treaties adopted by the U.S. The consequences have been horrific on an unprecedented scale: loss of countless American and Iraqi lives, tens of thousands wounded, the suffering of millions of Iraqi civilians, and a cost of over $500 billion.
Another prominent example of the conduct demanding impeachment is the administration's illegal domestic surveillance program. The National Security Agency conducted a domestic wiretapping program from 2001-2006 without procuring any warrants in direct violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ("FISA"). This is a direct violation of a law enacted to prevent abuses of power and protect constitutional rights to be free of improper government surveillance.
Rather than following the simple legal path of obtaining warrants from the secret FISA court, they choose to ignore the law. This surveillance was strongly condemned by many of the nation's leading constitutional scholars as a flagrant violation of law and the Fourth Amendment.
The illegal detention and torture practiced or sanctioned by this administration also demands impeachment. The practices of holding detainees indefinitely without charges or trials, sanctioning torture of persons in U.S. custody, and rendering suspects to other countries who permit more severe forms of torture is a violation of U.S. law and treaties to which the U.S. is a party.
The president's and vice president's pattern of disregard of the Constitution and the rule of law is apparent. Based on our review of the administration's actions, Maine Lawyers for Democracy calls upon Rep. Tom Allen and Rep. Mike Michaud to introduce Articles of Impeachment and demand an impeachment inquiry. We also call upon the Maine Legislature to pass a resolution initiating impeachment to be submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives pursuant to the House's procedural rules.
The unprecedented abuses of this administration demand extraordinary action to preserve the integrity of our constitutional system of government.
Many Maine citizens are recognizing the need for impeachment, and the support for impeachment is growing. More than 8,000 have already signed the petition sponsored by maineimpeach.org calling on Allen and Michaud and the Maine Legislature to hold the Bush administration accountable through the Constitution's mechanism of impeachment.
John Kaminski resides in Topsham, practices law in Portland and is the chairman of Maine Lawyers for Democracy.
© 2007 The Times Record
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9 Comments so far
Show AllImpeachment is not favored by Hillary because Pelosi will be moving up the ladder. The Hillary candidacy is stopping all impeachment proceedings.
Hillary is sucking all the air out of getting important things done like impeachment. She has a lot of money but she cannot win as much as many of us actually really like her.
Look at France- they could not elect a woman- only young women voted for her.
Even Bill Clinton only got elected because Ross Perrot split the Republican vote.
It is really a challenge to get a Demcorat in as President.
We thought that 2004 surely people would kick out Bush. NO- they swiftboated the war Hero John kerry and enough people had baggage with the Vietnam War to vote against John Kerry. Did the Democrats see that coming? NO - they were selfish and only thought about who they themselves enjoyed and liked. Well you have to pick the candidate that others will actually be convinced to vote for in the face of lots of ugly propaganda.
There will be and already is terrible ugly stuff said about Bill and Hillary and you say it enough times and the lazy voters who ahve nothing better to do that vote on American Idol will vote for the propaganda.
that is why Hillary needs to be smart and bow out early and crown AL GORE- he has more experience than Obama but Obama should be the VP. Al is possibly getting the Noble prize possibly for the environment and who warned about the lock box and he has an acceptable marriage without scandals.
So that is why impeachment is not being considered because Hillary is using up all the energy of the Dems to no avail!!
Here here! I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm sick of hearing Speaker Pelosi say that impeachment is off the table. Congress should charge the chief executive with the crimes that he's committed, just as any two-bit crook is. When you compare Bush's and Cheney's alleged crimes with Nixon's, there's no contest--Nixon was charged with bugging a single office, while Bush should be charged with bugging the entire country. And that's just *one*--and not the worst--of the crimes he should be charged with.
metamorph,
I am not convinced yet but I will keep my eyes open for evidence of Hillary trying to prevent Impeachment. I doubt seriously though that it would have much to do with fear of Pelosi taking the spotlight. Instead I would think it would have more to do with the new friendship between Bill and Bush 41, and with the fear that the Republicans would do payback on the next Democratic President, regardless of the justification.
But Hillary is capable of anything. If she becomes President and she thinks she will have a better chance at reelection if she nukes someone, she will do it. That woman appears to be cut from the same cloth as most Republicans.
Yes, it's time, way past time actually. Every day that goes by without impeachment proceedings beginning brings us closer to the complete irrelevance of the U.S. government, the death of legitimacy and the end of the consent of the governed.
I favor impeachment because I love America and see impeachment as the best possible alternative to anarchy and revolution.
If you love America, you must support impeachment
If you love fascism, toltarianism , dictatorship, authoritariansim, and torture, you will probably not support impeachement and will dance in the streets when America is destroyed from within.
Pelosi should be a target in the next election. If you follow the money Pelosi gets hers from the same place as the Republicans, which sadly is the case of most Dem's. So the reality is that there is no viable party of the people. Both parties are on the corporate payroll. Also, if Pelosi starts out with impeachment proceedings being she is now 3rd in line for the job, she could easily be accused of a power grab by Repug's. Of course if she offers to step down as Speaker and then brings impeachment proceedings that illusion could be easily shattered. However she clearly lacks the courage to do so, most likely because of her financial ties to industry.
We ought to go after Cheney first soince he committed the worst of crimes, then Gonzales and Rice next. Take the people out from around Bush first and then watch him flail and twist in the wind like a rudderless dingy. Or even better get all the impeachment cases going at the same time... Cheney, Rice, Gonzales and Bush. Those who have already resigned should be prosecuted criminally and/or turned over to the World Criminal Court at the Hague Netherlands. There is no need for any official recognition of this Court for these war criminals and thugs to be handed over.
These people are war criminals. Impeachment is a mere slap on the wrist. Put them in the dock for crimes against humanity or apologize to the Germans and Japanese who were hanged for launching wars of aggression.
Impeach to restore the rule of law and to deter future capitalist wars on people.
Impeach hell no ;
Bush, Cheney, and puppy dog Blair should
all be convicted and hung by the neck
untill dead. They earned that, and that
is what they should get.