Cheney Impeachment Gains Traction in House Judiciary Committee

Nine out of 23 Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee favor starting impeachment hearings against Vice-President Dick Cheney. Six of the nine are co-sponsors of H.R. 799, which contains three articles of impeachment.

Articles I and II of H.R. 799 accuse Cheney of purposely manipulating intelligence to deceive Congress and the American people about a fabricated threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and about an alleged relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda, respectively. Article III charges Cheney with openly threatening aggression against Iran absent any real threat to the United States. All three articles say Cheney's actions have damaged our national security interests.

Three of the nine Judiciary Committee Democrats who advocate launching impeachment hearings against Cheney, Reps. Robert Wexler (D., Fla.), Luis Gutierrez (D., Ill.) and Tammy Baldwin (D., Wis.), co-authored an op-ed that appeared on December 27 in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

They wrote, "The issues at hand are too serious to ignore, including credible allegations of abuse of power that, if proven, may well constitute high crimes and misdemeanors under the Constitution. The allegations against Cheney relate to his deceptive actions leading up to the Iraq war, the revelation of the identity of a covert agent for political retaliation, and the illegal wiretapping of American citizens."

There is also credible evidence that policies set in Cheney's office authorized the torture of prisoners in U.S. custody, in violation of three treaties the United States has ratified, as well as the U.S. Torture Statute and War Crimes Act. The policies on the treatment of prisoners emanating from Cheney's office triggered the abuse and torture, according to Lawrence Wilkerson, former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff.

"It was clear to me that there was a visible audit trail from the Vice President's office through the Secretary of Defense down to the commanders in the field," Wilkerson, a former colonel, said on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition."

In November, the House of Representatives sent the impeachment resolution to the House Judiciary Committee for further proceedings. However many Democrats oppose impeachment, citing the year and a half of testimony about Bill Clinton's personal relations. They think impeachment will detract from Congress's other pressing business.

Yet, the three congresspersons noted, the Clinton impeachment "must not be the model for impeachment inquiries. A Democratic Congress can show that it takes its constitutional authority seriously and hold a sober investigation, which will stand in stark contrast to the kangaroo court convened by Republicans for Clinton."

And, they argue, the hearings would "involve the possible impeachment of the vice president - not of our commander in chief - and the resulting impact on the nation's business and attention would be significantly less than the Clinton presidential impeachment hearings."

Seventy percent of American voters think Cheney has abused his powers and 43 percent say he should be removed from office, according to a Nov. 13 poll by the American Research Group. Organizations, including the National Lawyers Guild, have called for the impeachment of Dick Cheney.

Impeachment hearings against Cheney would not only fulfill the Constitution's command that high officials who commit high crimes and misdemeanors be brought to justice. It would also deter the vice president from committing additional crimes that threaten the national security of the United States.

Any impeachment proceeding would have to start in the House Judiciary Committee. The nine Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee who favor impeachment hearings are: Robert Wexler, Fla.; Luis Gutierrez, Ill.; Anthony Weiner, N.Y.; Tammy Baldwin, Wisc.; Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas; Steve Cohen, Tenn.; Keith Ellison, Minn.; Maxine Waters, Calif.; and Hank Johnson, Ga.

Here is a list of the entire House Judiciary Committee.

For information about the campaign to impeach Dick Cheney, see http://impeachcheney.org.

Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and the President of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author of Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law. Her articles are archived at www.marjoriecohn.com.

Comments

[mcthorogood]

Joe Citizen, a.k.a. John Nirenberg, was so pissed that he marched from Massachusetts to Washington, DC to see Ms. Pelosi.

http://www.marchinmyname.org/

But the Democan't speaker was too busy cutting tax rebate checks to see him. I hope Cindy Sheehan wins Pelosi's seat in the next election.

[jfor]

You know if the Demodouchebags actually did anything other than give Bush everything he asks for and then some I might believe that impeachment of Cheney and Bush would upset their agenda. However after a year of a democratic congress they have done pretty much nothing to get this country back on track and make us all proud to be Americans. So that excuse holds about as much water as the average waterboarding victim. I voted for the Dems and they have been a huge disapointment and have proven themselves to be no better than the current regime that has screwed up this country.

[Dem02020]

Perhaps I'm wrong, but the Impeachment Bill referred to in this blog is actually H.Res.799, not H.R.799...

There's a big difference: If you search the Congressional Record for "H.R.799 for the 110th Congress" (as I just did), then what you get is:

"H.R.799, the Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 2007"


On the other hand, search "H.Res.799 for the 110th Congress", and you get:

"Resolved, That Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors..."


Anyway, there's a difference between H.R.799 and H.Res.799, the Impeachment Bill.


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[JustifiablyParanoid]

Dare I hope...?

[Clinton]

This is way overdue, but better late than never.

[leftcoastindy]

Seventy percent of American voters think Cheney has abused his powers and 43 percent say he should be removed from office"

He should be in prison.

[sugarmoes]

"However many Democrats oppose impeachment, citing the year and a half of testimony about Bill Clinton's personal relations. They think impeachment will detract from Congress's other pressing business."

there is NO MORE PRESSING BUSINESS IN THIS NATION than holding to account ASAP the criminals occupying the white house.

GET ON IT! IMPEACH CHENEY THEN ARREST HIM FOR WAR CRIMES AND SEND HIM TO PRISON.

and yes... i am contacting the quivering members of the judiciary committee to tell them to start impeachment hearings IMMEDIATELY!

[lisakaz]

It'd be about ------- time SOMEONE properly investigated this swine before they do even more damage than they've already done (which is substantial to say the least).

[DemandTruth]

What about also the clear violation of the Hatch act re: using RNC email accounts to do gov't business AND the erasing and failure to preserve email regarding government business? TWO clear, proven violations of the law already. Doesn't that count?