Barbara Lee, Robert Wexler and John Conyers File Bush Investigation Bill

I have to say, I'm a bit shocked this hasn't received more play. But yesterday, Rep. Barbara Lee filed House Res. 383 -- The Lee Wexler Conyers Bill Establishing a Committee to Investigate Bush Admin Conduct. The full text of the resolution can be read at Rep. Robert Wexler's Web site, here.

To sum it up, though, the bill would create a committee -- with subpoena power -- that would investigate Bush era warrantless wiretapping and torture, especially as carried out under the auspices of the Patriot Act, in violation of FISA, and "in contravention of Federal laws against torture and abuse."

All three of these representatives have been among the Bush administration's harshest critics for years. The bill itself was referred to the Rules Committee, where Democrats outnumber Republicans nine to four. That, however, is no guarantee that the bill will ever get out of committee. None of the aforementioned representatives sit on the committee, and of the nine that do, it's debatable how many of them want to go down the investigative road. That said, the committee's chairwoman, Rep. Louise Slaughter, wrote a post here at HuffingtonPost just a couple months ago, the title of which declared "Nothing But Contempt For Those Who Trample The Constitution."

If Rep. Slaughter does indeed hold herself as a watchdog against the trampling of the Constitution, and one who has called for investigations into Bush misdeeds in the past, then Congress may very well begin investigating torture and warrantless wiretapping in a matter of months. Time, however, is of the essence -- the bill itself declares that the committee will cease to exist on Dec. 31, 2010.

Comments

[jcorrington]

Ah yes...we all know how serious everyone takes congressional supoenas.