House Res to Impeach Cheney Survives
November 7th 2007 07:19
A House measure to impeach Vice-President Dick Cheney survived being tabled on November 6, 2007. Introduced on April 24, 2007 by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, House Resolution 333 calls for Cheney to be impeached for "high crimes and misdemeanors."
The term "high crimes and misdemeanors" is little understood by most Americans. The phrase appears in Article Two Section Four of the Constitution, and denotes a "grave and immediate offense against the state," according to former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, who sat in on the House impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon. Alexander Hamilton referred to impeachable offenses as "those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust."
House Resolution 333 contains three articles of impeachment against Cheney. Article I of House Resolution 333 cites Cheney's manipulation "of the intelligence process" in order to "deceive the citizens and Congress." by creating the "threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction" in order to justify invading Iraq. Article I also states that Cheney pressured the "intelligence community to change their findings" concerning Iraq and WMDs to "enable the deception of the citizens and Congress."
Cheney "purposely manipulated the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress" about an "alleged relationship" between the terrorist group al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein., according to Article II of House Resolution 333. Article II points out that no credible evidence existed to prove such a relationship existed.
During a March 16, 2003 interview with Tim Russert from NBC's Meet the Press, Cheney claimed that Hussein was "out trying once again to produce nuclear weapons...he has a long-standing relationship with the al-Qaida organiation." Russert responded by mentioning that the International Atomic Energy Agency disputed White House claims concerning Iraq and nuclear weapons. Cheney answered, "I disagree."
Greg Thielmann, the top intelligence official at the U.S. State Department until resigning shortly before the invasion of Iraq, told PBS' Frontline the way Bush administration officials were discussing Iraq diverged from “the kind of qualified and fairly carefully structured intelligence that they were being provided.”
Thielmann believed the claims Iraq tried to restart its nuclear weapons program were inserted by "someone on the policy side of the State Department" but not from anyone "cleared by the Intelligence Bureau." According to him, the Bush administration "already had their conclusion to start out with" and picked the intelligence information provided to them "to use whatever pieces of it that fit their overall interpretation."
Misleading the country about Iraq is an impeachable offense for it violates the vice-presidential oath. The Congress voted for the Bush administration to use force against Iraq based on misleading intelligence which ran contrary to what the majority of the U.S. intelligence community reported. While doing investigations for The Constitution in Crisis, a report on the abuses of the Bush administration, Rep. John Conyers found "substantial evidence" that the Bush administration mislead both the American people and Congress "regarding the decision to go to war with Iraq.”
The term "high crimes and misdemeanors" is little understood by most Americans. The phrase appears in Article Two Section Four of the Constitution, and denotes a "grave and immediate offense against the state," according to former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, who sat in on the House impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon. Alexander Hamilton referred to impeachable offenses as "those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust."
House Resolution 333 contains three articles of impeachment against Cheney. Article I of House Resolution 333 cites Cheney's manipulation "of the intelligence process" in order to "deceive the citizens and Congress." by creating the "threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction" in order to justify invading Iraq. Article I also states that Cheney pressured the "intelligence community to change their findings" concerning Iraq and WMDs to "enable the deception of the citizens and Congress."
Cheney "purposely manipulated the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress" about an "alleged relationship" between the terrorist group al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein., according to Article II of House Resolution 333. Article II points out that no credible evidence existed to prove such a relationship existed.
During a March 16, 2003 interview with Tim Russert from NBC's Meet the Press, Cheney claimed that Hussein was "out trying once again to produce nuclear weapons...he has a long-standing relationship with the al-Qaida organiation." Russert responded by mentioning that the International Atomic Energy Agency disputed White House claims concerning Iraq and nuclear weapons. Cheney answered, "I disagree."
Greg Thielmann, the top intelligence official at the U.S. State Department until resigning shortly before the invasion of Iraq, told PBS' Frontline the way Bush administration officials were discussing Iraq diverged from “the kind of qualified and fairly carefully structured intelligence that they were being provided.”
Thielmann believed the claims Iraq tried to restart its nuclear weapons program were inserted by "someone on the policy side of the State Department" but not from anyone "cleared by the Intelligence Bureau." According to him, the Bush administration "already had their conclusion to start out with" and picked the intelligence information provided to them "to use whatever pieces of it that fit their overall interpretation."
Misleading the country about Iraq is an impeachable offense for it violates the vice-presidential oath. The Congress voted for the Bush administration to use force against Iraq based on misleading intelligence which ran contrary to what the majority of the U.S. intelligence community reported. While doing investigations for The Constitution in Crisis, a report on the abuses of the Bush administration, Rep. John Conyers found "substantial evidence" that the Bush administration mislead both the American people and Congress "regarding the decision to go to war with Iraq.”
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Comment by Jim Stillman
However, the impeachment process is a distraction. What would be better? Have the Democrats act responsibly, pass bills that matter and over rule the veto. The Democrats have not been as aggressive as they should be, have not seized the initiative and have allowed the folly that is Bush to continue!
Next step? Iran. Unless the Democrats prevent it.
Comment by Gina-Marie Cheeseman
The Truthteller
Comment by Jim Stillman
Comment by Damo
Yet the humiliation may be a warning to others.
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
very interesting!! How amazing that this did not appear as a headline in our print or media here in OZ!!
Juts goes to show how they are all aligned in some way...
What amazes me more than this, is the whole issue of 911, and how that was wholeslae swept under the carpet as quickly as possible.
There are many grave and serious problems with the so called offical story about the events of that day, yet once again the media and press are mute.
We live in dangerous times indeed!
cheers
fog
P.S. Remember to encourage all your pals to get out and register to vote...and vote those criminals out of office!!!!