Impeachment Weighed Againby Dave Lindorff and Barbara Olshansky
Philadelphia InquirerWho would have thought, just seven years after the Clinton impeachment farce, we'd again be considering impeachment? Yet here we are, five years into the Bush presidency, and again impeachment is in the air.
For some time, opponents of the Iraq War have been calling for impeachment. You could see their signs at marches, but given Republican control of the House, it was hard to take the idea seriously.
In recent months, though, impeachment calls have gained a new seriousness - and wider public support - and for good reason: this November, a shift of only 15 House seats would give Democrats control of the House and of the Judiciary Committee. Rep. John Conyers (D., Mich.), who would become Judiciary Committee chair, has already submitted a bill calling for an investigation into impeachable crimes, and would certainly welcome an impeachment bill.
More important, over the last five years, Bush has become the Willie Sutton of constitutional violators. While the impeachment of President Bill Clinton for lying about sex was a case of frivolous political harassment, this president's many "high crimes and misdemeanors" pose such a threat to basic freedoms, and to the system of checks and balances, that not to impeach would be irresponsible.
Among Bush's most serious impeachable actions:
Lying to Congress and the American people about the need to invade Iraq. It has become increasingly clear that Iraq had no nuclear program, no weapons of mass destruction, and posed no imminent threat to America. It was a lie when Bush told Americans we were at risk of attack in 2002 and 2003, and it was a lie when, on March 18, 2003, he wrote Congress to announce his invasion of Iraq, saying it posed a threat to America and was linked to 9/11.
Refusing to cooperate with congressional and 9/11 Commission probes. To this day, the White House has refused to respond to legitimate requests from such committees for information needed to investigate 9/11, and to help guard against future attacks.
Violating the Bill of Rights. President Bush has willfully authorized the indefinite detention without charge of U.S. citizens and the detention and deportation of legal residents, and has illegally used the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without a court order.
Obstruction of justice. While the special counsel's investigation is continuing, it appears that Bush was at least aware of efforts to cover up, and may well have been involved in, a White House campaign to punish and discredit former ambassador Joseph Wilson by illegally exposing his wife, Valerie Plame, as an undercover CIA operative.
War crimes. There is powerful evidence Bush authorized, promoted, and then attempted to cover up a policy of kidnapping, "renditioning" and torture, all in violation of the Geneva Conventions to which the United States is a signatory. He also waged a war of aggression, and engaged in a conspiracy to promote that war - all of which is a "crime against peace" under the Nuremberg Charter, which the United States helped to write.
Abuse of power. Bush has willfully ignored more than 750 acts passed by Congress.
Criminal negligence. Incompetence isn't impeachable, but, in the cases such as Bush's abject failure to deal with the threat and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, or in his failure to adequately protect troops sent into Iraq, or to plan for the aftermath of the Iraq invasion, gross incompetence becomes criminal negligence. The same is true of this president's perhaps greatest crime: his failure to deal with, and his willful obstruction of efforts to ward off, global warming.
Critics argue that it's wrong to impeach if there is no chance the Senate will convict. We disagree. This president's constitutional crimes have never been fully investigated, or, in many cases, investigated at all. Yet remember, it was only during the Watergate and impeachment hearings that Richard Nixon's most serious crimes came to light. Who knows what even Senate Republicans would do once witnesses, compelled to testify under oath in a House Judiciary Committee, started to tell the truth about Bush administration actions?
For all these reasons, impeachment should be a key issue this election year, and a bill of impeachment should be submitted to the next House Judiciary Committee.
Dave Lindorff (dlindorff@yahoo.com) and Barbara Olshansky are coauthors of "The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office."
