Talks and activities of a possible impeachment of George W. Bush
During the presidency of
George W. Bush
, several American politicians sought to either investigate Bush for possible impeachable offenses, or to bring actual
impeachment
charges on the floor of the
United States House of Representatives
Judiciary Committee
. The most significant of these efforts occurred on June 10, 2008, when Congressman
Dennis Kucinich
, along with co-sponsor
Robert Wexler
, introduced 35
articles of impeachment
[1]
against Bush to the U.S. House of Representatives.
[2]
The House voted 251 to 166 to refer the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee on June 11, where no further action was taken on it.
[3]
Bush's presidency ended on January 20, 2009, with the completion of his second term in office, rendering impeachment efforts
moot
.
Kucinich?Wexler impeachment articles
[
edit
]
The Kucinich?Wexler impeachment resolution contained 35
articles of impeachment
covering the Iraq War, the
Valerie Plame
affair, creating a case for war with Iran, capture and treatment of prisoners of war, spying and or wiretapping inside the United States, use of signing statements, failing to comply with Congressional subpoenas, the 2004 elections, Medicare, Hurricane Katrina, global warming, and 9/11.
[1]
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the most substantial portion of the articles of impeachment introduced by Kucinich and Wexler. Fifteen of the 35 articles directly relate to alleged misconduct by Bush in seeking authority for the war, and in the conduct of military action itself. Five other articles address allegations partially or tertiarily relating to the war, including the "outing" of Valerie Plame, treatment of prisoners (both in Iraq and from operations in Afghanistan and other countries), and building a case for Iran being a threat based in part on alleging Iranian actions in Iraq.
Justification for invasion
[
edit
]
The first four impeachment articles charge the president with illegally creating a case for war with Iraq, including charges of a propaganda campaign, falsely representing Iraq as responsible for 9/11, and falsely representing Iraq as an imminent danger to the United States.
[1]
Legitimacy of invasion
[
edit
]
Articles 5?8 and 12 deal with the invasion of Iraq and include charges that funds were misspent before the war, that the war was in violation of HJRes114, that Iraq was invaded without a war declaration, that the war is a violation of the UN Charter, and that the purpose of the war was to control the country's oil supplies.
[1]
Conduct of the Iraq War
[
edit
]
Articles 9, 10, 11 and 13 deal with conduct of the war, including failing to provide troops with body armor, falsifying US troop deaths and injuries, establishing a permanent military base in Iraq, and creating a secret task force to develop energy and military policies with respect to Iraq and other countries. Articles 15 and 16 cover contractors in Iraq and charges that the president misspent money on contractors and provided them with immunity.
Valerie Plame
[
edit
]
Article 14 is about the revelation of the identity of CIA agent
Valerie Plame
.
Treatment of detainees
[
edit
]
Articles 17?20 concern the treatment of detainees, the "kidnapping" and detention of foreign nationals, and the use of torture.
Attempt to overthrow the government of Iran
[
edit
]
Article 21 claims that the president misled Congress and the American people about threats from Iran, and supported terrorist organizations within Iran, with the goal of overthrowing the Iranian government.
NSA warrantless surveillance controversy
[
edit
]
Articles 24 and 25 charge the president with illegally spying on American citizens, directing US telecom companies to create databases of citizens, and violating the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution.
Signing statements
[
edit
]
Article 26 concerns the presidential use of signing statements.
Congressional subpoenas
[
edit
]
Article 27 is about failing to comply with congressional subpoenas.
2004 elections
[
edit
]
Articles 28 and 29 charge the president with tampering with the 2004 elections and violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Medicare
[
edit
]
Article 30 states "Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare."
Katrina
[
edit
]
Article 31 concerns the supposed failure to plan and respond to Hurricane Katrina.
Global warming
[
edit
]
Article 32 charges the president with "Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change."
9/11
[
edit
]
Articles 33, 34 and 35 concern 9/11, alleging that the president failed to respond to prior intelligence, obstructed post-9/11 investigations and endangered the health of 9/11 first responders.
Political views and actions
[
edit
]
An early effort to impeach Bush was begun by
Lyndon Johnson
administration Attorney General
Ramsey Clark
.
[4]
[5]
Democrats in Congress
[
edit
]
On June 16, 2005, Rep.
John Conyers
(D-
MI
) assembled an unofficial meeting to discuss the
Downing Street memo
and to consider grounds for impeachment.
Conyers filed a resolution on December 18, 2005, to create an investigative committee to consider impeachment. His resolution gained 38 co-sponsors before it expired at the end of the
109th Congress
. He did not reintroduce a similar resolution for the
110th Congress
.
[6]
Keith Ellison
(D-MN) was the leading figure behind the resolution to impeach Bush brought to the
Minnesota State House of Representatives
in May 2006.
[7]
Ellison was elected to the
United States House of Representatives
in November 2006. During the campaign and when he was named to the
House Judiciary Committee
, Ellison repeatedly called for an investigation into a possible impeachment.
[8]
In support of his candidacy, he "received a $1,000 contribution from ImpeachPAC".
[9]
Ellison would later note that his "opinions really have not changed over time, but the circumstances" regarding his position in Congress had, and he was a "step before impeachment".
[10]
At another
unofficial hearing
convened by Conyers on January 20, 2006, Rep.
Jerrold Nadler
(D-
NY
) called for the committee to explore whether Bush should face impeachment, stemming from his decision to authorize domestic surveillance without court review.
On May 10, 2006, House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi
(D-
CA
) indicated she was not interested in pursuing impeachment and had taken it "off the table", reiterating this phrase on November 8, 2006, after the election.
[11]
[12]
In July 2007, Pelosi stated that she "would probably advocate" impeaching Bush if she were not in the House nor Speaker of the House.
[13]
On December 8, 2006 (the last day of the 109th Congress), then-Representative
Cynthia McKinney
(D-GA) submitted a resolution, H. Res. 1106. The bill expired along with the 109th Congress.
[14]
John Conyers brought up the subject of impeachment on the July 8, 2007, broadcast of
This Week with George Stephanopoulos
,
[15]
stating:
We're hoping that as the cries for the removal of both Cheney and Bush now reach 46 percent and 58 percent, respectively, for impeachment, that we could begin to become a little bit more cooperative, if not even amicable, in trying to get to the truth of these matters.
Presidential candidate
Dennis Kucinich
's major point in the
Democratic Presidential Debate
on October 30, 2007, was that Bush and Cheney should be impeached for the
Iraq War
.
[16]
[17]
On November 6, 2007, Kucinich introduced a
resolution to impeach Vice President Cheney
in the House of Representatives.
[18]
In November 2007,
Joe Biden
, then a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, stated that he would move to impeach if President Bush were to bomb Iran without first gaining congressional approval.
[19]
However, no such bombing occurred during the rest of Bush's term.
On June 9, 2008, Representative
Dennis Kucinich
(D-Ohio), introduced a resolution,
H.Res. 1258
, to impeach president George W. Bush, which included 35 counts in the articles of impeachment. At the end of the evening on June 10, Kucinich offered a motion to refer HRes 1258 to the House Judiciary Committee. On June 11, the House voted 251-166 to send the resolution to the Committee.
[20]
The effort to impeach President Bush was not supported by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who believed the move would be "divisive and unlikely to succeed."
[21]
On July 14, 2008, Kucinich introduced a new impeachment resolution (
H.Res. 1345
) limited to a single count.
[22]
[23]
State-level Democratic party actions
[
edit
]
On March 21, 2006, the New Mexico Democratic Party, at a convention in
Albuquerque
, adopted a plank to their platform saying “the Democratic Party of New Mexico supports the impeachment of George Bush and his lawful removal from office.”
[24]
On March 24, 2007, the Vermont Democratic State Committee voted to support JRH 15, a state legislative resolution supporting impeachment, calling for its passage as "appropriate action."
[25]
On January 2, 2008,
Betty Hall
, an 87-year-old, fourteen-term Democratic
State Representative
, introduced New Hampshire House Resolution 24 in the State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs Committee of the
New Hampshire House of Representatives
.
[26]
The resolution was "petitioning Congress to commence impeachment procedures" against Bush and Cheney for "high crimes and misdemeanors", including domestic spying, illegal detentions, signing statements, electioneering, the breaking of international treaties, and war crimes.
[27]
The bill further asserted that "section 603 of
Jefferson's
Manual of Parliamentary Practice
states that an impeachment may be set in motion by the United States House of Representatives by charges transmitted from the legislature of a state".
[27]
On February 20, 2008, the bill was ruled "Inexpedient to Legislate" to pass by a 10 to 5 vote within committee, which passed the resolution on to the full House for a vote.
[26]
The bill was
tabled
in the New Hampshire House of Representatives on April 16, 2008.
[26]
After three efforts to have the bill removed from the table were unsuccessful, it died on the table on September 24, 2008.
[26]
House Republicans
[
edit
]
On July 25, 2008, Rep.
Mike Pence
(
IN
) said that Bush had not broken the law in his own interest. He further cited the
Framers
of the Constitution and said that we should use "our own good judgment" regarding their intent on impeachment.
[28]
Summary of impeachment resolutions introduced
[
edit
]
Impeachment resolutions introduced in the
109th U.S. Congress
Resolution #
|
Date introduced
|
Sponsor
|
Number of co-sponsors
|
Action called for
|
Reason
|
Actions taken
|
Citation
|
H.Res. 635
|
December 18, 2005
|
John Conyers
(D?MI)
|
38
|
Launch of an
impeachment inquiry
|
Allegations against the Bush administration including, "intent to go to war before congressional authorization, manipulation of pre-war intelligence, encouraging and countenancing torture, retaliating against critics"
|
Referred to
House Committee on Rules
on December 18, 2005
|
[29]
|
H.Res.1106
|
December 8, 2006
|
Cynthia McKinney
(D?GA)
|
0
|
Impeachment of Bush
|
Alleged "high crimes and misdemeanors" outlined in three articles of impeachment:
- Article I: "Failure to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution," in violation of
his oath of office
by, "manipulating intelligence and lying to justify war"
- Article II: "Abuse of office and of executive privilege," in violation of his oath of office, through, "disregard for that oath by obstructing and hindering the work of Congressional investigative bodies and by seeking to expand the scope of the powers of his office," and additionally, failing to, "investigate or discipline those responsible for an ongoing pattern of negligence, incompetence and malfeasance to the detriment of the American people (including by Vice President
Dick Cheney
and National Security Advisor
Condoleezza Rice
)
- Article III:"Failure to ensure the laws are faithfully executed," in violation of his duties under Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution by having, "violated the letter and spirit of laws and rules of criminal procedure used by civilian and military courts, and has violated or ignored regulatory codes and practices that carry out the law," in conduct including, "illegal domestic spying," that is, "in violation of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
"
|
Referred to
House Committee on the Judiciary
on December 8, 2006
|
[30]
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Impeaching George W. Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors. (2008 - H.Res. 1258)"
.
GovTrack.us
. Retrieved
2023-01-05
.
- ^
Man, Anthony (June 10, 2008).
"Impeach Bush, Wexler says"
. South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
. Retrieved
2008-06-10
.
- ^
"Bill Summary & Status - 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) - H.RES.1258 - All Congressional Actions - THOMAS (Library of Congress)"
. Archived from
the original
on 2016-07-04
. Retrieved
2009-01-26
.
- ^
"Ramsey Clark speaks out against war at college by josh davidson Staff Writer"
.
independent.gmnews.com
. Archived from
the original
on 17 December 2005
. Retrieved
17 January
2022
.
- ^
"Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark Calls for Bush Impeachment"
.
Democracy Now!
.
- ^
H.RES.635 - Creating a select committee to investigate the Administration's intent to go to war before congressional authorization, manipulation of pre-war intelligence, encouraging and countenancing
Archived
2015-03-18 at the
Wayback Machine
torture
, retaliating against critics, and to make recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment Sponsor: Rep Conyers, John, Jr. (introduced December 18, 2005)
- ^
Wilson, Conrad (2006-12-08).
"The Insurgent"
. Retrieved
January 27,
2007
.
- ^
Pugmire, Tim (2006-08-09).
"Ellison compares Bush to Nixon"
. Minnesota Public Radio
. Retrieved
January 27,
2007
.
- ^
Hotakainen, Rob (2007-01-25).
"Will Ellison pursue impeachment? Not for now, he says"
. Star Tribune. Archived from
the original
on February 14, 2007.
Retrieved January 27, 2007.
- ^
Hotakainen, Rob (January 27, 2007).
"Impeach Bush? Not yet, says Dem"
.
- ^
Babington, Charles (2006-05-12).
"Democrats Won't Try To Impeach President"
.
The Washington Post
.
ISSN
0190-8286
. Retrieved
2023-01-05
.
- ^
NANCY ZUCKERBROD (8 November 2006).
"Pelosi Says Democrats Are Ready to Lead"
.
The Washington Post
. Associated Press.
ISSN
0190-8286
. Retrieved
2023-01-05
.
- ^
Berman, Ari (2007-07-31).
"Why Pelosi Opposes Impeachment"
.
ISSN
0027-8378
. Retrieved
2023-01-05
.
- ^
Evans, Ben (2006-12-08).
"McKinney Introduces Bill to Impeach Bush"
. Associated Press.
- ^
Rep. Conyers on Impeachment
, retrieved
2023-01-05
- ^
Spillius, Alex (2 November 2007).
"US presidential candidate insists he saw UFO"
.
Telegraph
. Philadelphia. Archived from
the original
on 3 November 2007
. Retrieved
2008-10-27
.
- ^
"Poll: Vermont Wants Bush, Cheney Impeached, Nearly Two-Thirds Of State's Likely Voters Want President, VP Removed Before Term Ends"
.
CBS News
. November 1, 2007
. Retrieved
2008-10-27
.
- ^
Claffey, Jason.
"Dover NH, Rochester NH, Portsmouth NH, Laconia NH, Sanford ME"
. Durham: Fosters.com
. Retrieved
2008-10-27
.
- ^
Leech, Adam.
"Biden: Impeachment if Bush bombs Iran"
. Seacoastonline.com
. Retrieved
2008-10-27
.
- ^
"Impeaching George W. Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors"
. Thomas.loc.gov. Archived from
the original
on 2015-07-18
. Retrieved
2008-10-27
.
- ^
"Kucinich effort to impeach Bush kicked into limbo - CNN.com"
.
www.cnn.com
. Retrieved
2021-02-11
.
- ^
"Kucinich to Introduce Sole Impeachment Resolution"
. Roll Call. July 10, 2008
. Retrieved
August 27,
2013
.
- ^
rtsp://video1.c-span.org/15days/e071008_kucinich.rm
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Jones, Jeff (2006-03-21).
"N.M. Dems Call For Bush's Exit"
. Retrieved
2007-01-27
.
- ^
Vermont: 36 towns call for impeachment probe of president
, by Shay Totten & Christian Avard
Vermont Guardian
, March 6, 2007.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Bill Docket"
.
www.gencourt.state.nh.us
. Retrieved
2023-01-05
.
- ^
a
b
"HR 0024"
.
www.gencourt.state.nh.us
. Retrieved
2023-01-05
.
- ^
"User Clip: Mike Pence on impeachment cspan-July 25, 2008 | C-SPAN.org"
.
C-SPAN
. July 25, 2008
. Retrieved
November 25,
2019
.
- ^
"H.Res.635 - Creating a select committee to investigate the Administration's intent to go to war before congressional authorization, manipulation of pre-war intelligence, encouraging and countenancing torture, retaliating against critics, and to make recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment"
.
congress.gov
. United States Congress
. Retrieved
4 January
2023
.
- ^
"H.Res.1106 - Articles of Impeachment against George Walker Bush, President of the United States of America, and other officials, for high crimes and misdemeanors"
.
congress.gov
. United States Congress
. Retrieved
4 January
2023
.
- ^
"H.Res.1258 - Impeaching George W. Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors"
.
congress.gov
. United States Congress
. Retrieved
4 January
2023
.
- ^
"H.Res.1345 - Impeaching George W. Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors"
.
congress.gov
. United States Congress
. Retrieved
4 January
2023
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- John Bonifaz
,
Warrior King: The Case for Impeaching George Bush
, (2003)
ISBN
1-56025-606-0
- Dave Lindorff
&
Barbara Olshansky
,
The Case for Impeachment
: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office, (2006)
ISBN
0-312-36016-9
- Dennis Loo & Peter Phillips, Eds.,
Impeach the President: the Case Against Bush and Cheney
, (2006)
ISBN
978-1-58322-743-5
- John Nichols
,
The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism
, (2006)
ISBN
978-1-59558-140-2
- Elizabeth de la Vega,
U.S. v. Bush
, (2006)
ISBN
978-1-58322-756-5
- Charles Black
,
Impeachment: A Handbook (Yale Fastback Series)
, (1998 Reissue)
ISBN
0-300-07950-8
- Glenn Greenwald
,
How Would a Patriot Act? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok
, (2006)
ISBN
0-9779440-0-X
- Elizabeth Holtzman
with Cynthia Cooper,
The Impeachment of George W Bush
A Practical Guide for Concerned Citizens, (2006)
ISBN
1-56025-940-X
- Marjorie Cohn
,
Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law
, (2007)
ISBN
0-9778253-3-7
- Charlie Savage
,
Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy
, (2007)
ISBN
0-316-11805-2
- Vincent Bugliosi
,
The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder
, (2008)
ISBN
978-159315-481-3
External links
[
edit
]
Wikisource
has original text related to this article:
|
---|
|
Formal impeachments
| |
---|
Efforts to impeach
| |
---|
Impeachment inquiries
| |
---|
In
bold
, impeachments leading to conviction. In
italics
, impeachments or attempts leading to resignation.
|