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Cynthia McKinney Introduces Impeachment Bill
Dave Lindorrf: Breaking News! Outgoing Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) has filed a three-article bill of impeachment against Bush in the closing days of the 109th Congress. Maybe that'll give a little backbone to her sheepish colleagues in the 110th this January. With Rumsfeld facing an ACLU torture suit in a D.C. Federal Court, this is a good week for America and the Constitution.
http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/
http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/
McKinney Introduces Bill to Impeach Bush
By Ben Evans
The Associated Press
Friday 08 December 2006
Washington - In what was likely her final legislative act in Congress, outgoing Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney announced a bill Friday to impeach President Bush.
The legislation has no chance of passing and serves as a symbolic parting shot not only at Bush but also at Democratic leaders. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has made clear that she will not entertain proposals to sanction Bush and has warned the liberal wing of her party against making political hay of impeachment.
McKinney, a Democrat who drew national headlines in March when she struck a Capitol police officer, has long insisted that Bush was never legitimately elected. In introducing her legislation in the final hours of the current Congress, she said Bush had violated his oath of office to defend the Constitution and the nation's laws.
McKinney has made no secret of her frustration with Democratic leaders since voters ousted her from office in the Democratic primary this summer. In a speech Monday at George Washington University, she accused party leaders of cowing to Republicans on the war in Iraq and on military mistreatment of prisoners.
McKinney, who has not discussed her future plans, has increasingly embraced her image as a controversial figure.
She has hosted numerous panels on Sept. 11 conspiracy theories and suggested that Bush had prior knowledge of the terrorist attacks but kept quiet about it to allow friends to profit from the aftermath. She introduced legislation to establish a permanent collection of rapper Tupac Shakur's recordings at the National Archives and calling for a federal investigation into his killing.
But it was her scuffle with a Capitol police officer that drew the most attention. McKinney struck the officer when he tried to stop her from entering a congressional office building. The officer did not recognize McKinney, who was not wearing her member lapel pin.
A grand jury in Washington declined to indict McKinney over the clash, but she eventually apologized before the House.
Congresswoman McKinney Files Articles of Impeachment
By Matt Pascarella
t r u t h o u t | Report
Friday 08 December 2006
On Monday, gathering in a conference room in Washington, DC, Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and her advisors worked on a draft copy of articles of impeachment against President Bush.
At the heart of the charges contained in McKinney's articles of impeachment is the allegation that President Bush has not upheld the oath of presidential office and is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.
Article I states that President Bush has failed to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. Specifically cited in this article is the charge that Bush has manipulated intelligence and lied to justify war: "George Walker Bush … in preparing the invasion of Iraq, did withhold intelligence from the Congress, by refusing to provide Congress with the full intelligence picture that he was being given, by redacting information … and actively manipulating the intelligence on Iraq's alleged weapons programs by pressuring the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies."
This manipulation of intelligence was done, the charge continues, "with the intent to misinform the people and their representatives in Congress in order to gain their support for invading Iraq, denying both the people and their representatives in Congress the right to make an informed choice."
Article II, "Abuse of office and of executive privilege," states that President Bush has disregarded his oath of office by "obstructing and hindering the work of Congressional investigative bodies and by seeking to expand the scope of the powers of his office." The president has "failed to take responsibility for, investigate or discipline those responsible for an ongoing pattern of negligence, incompetence and malfeasance to the detriment of the American people."
This article continues by indicting Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in their actions to manipulate or "fix" intelligence and mislead the public about Iraq's weapons programs. Ultimately, this article calls not only for Bush's impeachment and removal from office but also asks the same actions to be taken against Cheney and Rice.
Article III states that President Bush has failed to "ensure the laws are faithfully executed" and that he has "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."
Specifically, McKinney cites illegal domestic spying as a result of failing to obtain warrants thereby subverting Congress and the judiciary in the process: "… by circumventing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act courts established by Congress, whose express purpose is to check such abuses of executive power, provoking the presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to file a complaint and another judge to resign in protest, the said program having been subsequently ruled illegal; he has also concealed the existence of this unlawful program of spying on American citizens from the people and all but a few of their representatives in Congress, even resorting to outright public deceit."
The article continues by citing public statements Bush has made that were blatantly contradictory to his policy and actions regarding domestic spying.
While the staff was editing the document, one advisor told me, "As we sat down and worked on this, a pattern became very clear … a pattern to specifically undermine the Constitution and establish a unitary presidency."
The charges addressed in McKinney's resolution are nothing revelatory or new. Rather, they are issues which have been in the public eye for quite some time and have increasingly been covered in the media over the last year.
Despite winning the Congressional majority, the Democrats have yet to put forth a plan to investigate what have become somewhat ubiquitous allegations.
Speaker-Elect and Congresswoman Pelosi dismissed any possibility of impeachment, saying it is "off the table" and that it is "a waste of time … making them lame-ducks is good enough for me," although, in the November election, 60 percent of the voters in her own district cast ballots in favor of Proposition J, a measure calling for the impeachment of President Bush.
In 2005, Congressman John Conyers sponsored a resolution, HR 365, to create a special committee to investigate allegations against the Bush administration - a move that would likely lead to the discovery of impeachable offenses. This resolution was passed to the House Committee on Rules and was never brought up for a vote.
At that time it was widely believed that if the Democrats took control of Congress, Conyers would reintroduce the resolution since he would have subpoena power if selected as leader of the House Judiciary Committee.
A few days after the Democrats won control, Conyers echoed Pelosi's statement, saying, "I am in total agreement with her on this issue … impeachment is off the table." Last week, a spokesperson from Conyers's office said that the resolution would not be reintroduced and that the congressman had no intention to pursue the matter.
Will other members of Congress support the action Congresswoman McKinney has brought forth?
At the table in what could be considered her impeachment "war room," the question is brought up a number of times.
Mike, an advisor to McKinney, mentions, "Conyers was supposed to have investigations. They were chomping at the bit 6 months ago to do subpoenas."
McKinney quietly replies, "Now they say they aren't even going to issue subpoenas."
Looking up from her papers, she takes a deep breath, "I'm going in alone on this one because now it is all about them playing majority politics."
This is McKinney's last week as a member of Congress and this act, to impeach the president, is the final resolution she will enter into the Congressional record.
For those who know anything about Cynthia McKinney, it may come as no surprise that she would file this resolution as her parting gift to Congress.
McKinney is no stranger to being attacked by the media and has been isolated from her own party.
From her inquiries into election fraud in 2000 to her calls for a transparent and thorough investigation into 9/11, not to mention the widely covered run-in she had with the Capitol Hill Police, the congresswoman is aware that this resolution will likely be ignored and that she will be ruthlessly attacked upon its filing.
"What do you think they are going to do to me this time?" she asks her staff. Everyone uncomfortably shifts in their seats, and after no answer comes, McKinney explains: "We have to do this because this is simply the right thing to do. The American people do want to hold this man and his office accountable for the crimes they have committed, and if no member of Congress is willing to do it, than I will."
It is questionable as to how effective this move could be in gaining support because of her reputation as a firebrand congresswoman and because, ultimately, she is on her way out of office.
The congresswoman and her staff realize this, but hope that by filing the articles of impeachment it will, at the very least, open up a discussion on whether or not President Bush and key members of his administration have committed impeachable offenses and whether our officials should be held to account.
"My duty as a member of Congress is merely to uphold and preserve the Constitution and to represent the will of my constituency. Ultimately, it isn't up to me or any other member of Congress - it is up to the American people to decide."
Matt Pascarella is a freelance journalist & producer who was present during the drafting of the Articles of Impeachment that Congresswoman McKinney filed today.
By Ben Evans
The Associated Press
Friday 08 December 2006
Washington - In what was likely her final legislative act in Congress, outgoing Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney announced a bill Friday to impeach President Bush.
The legislation has no chance of passing and serves as a symbolic parting shot not only at Bush but also at Democratic leaders. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has made clear that she will not entertain proposals to sanction Bush and has warned the liberal wing of her party against making political hay of impeachment.
McKinney, a Democrat who drew national headlines in March when she struck a Capitol police officer, has long insisted that Bush was never legitimately elected. In introducing her legislation in the final hours of the current Congress, she said Bush had violated his oath of office to defend the Constitution and the nation's laws.
McKinney has made no secret of her frustration with Democratic leaders since voters ousted her from office in the Democratic primary this summer. In a speech Monday at George Washington University, she accused party leaders of cowing to Republicans on the war in Iraq and on military mistreatment of prisoners.
McKinney, who has not discussed her future plans, has increasingly embraced her image as a controversial figure.
She has hosted numerous panels on Sept. 11 conspiracy theories and suggested that Bush had prior knowledge of the terrorist attacks but kept quiet about it to allow friends to profit from the aftermath. She introduced legislation to establish a permanent collection of rapper Tupac Shakur's recordings at the National Archives and calling for a federal investigation into his killing.
But it was her scuffle with a Capitol police officer that drew the most attention. McKinney struck the officer when he tried to stop her from entering a congressional office building. The officer did not recognize McKinney, who was not wearing her member lapel pin.
A grand jury in Washington declined to indict McKinney over the clash, but she eventually apologized before the House.
Congresswoman McKinney Files Articles of Impeachment
By Matt Pascarella
t r u t h o u t | Report
Friday 08 December 2006
On Monday, gathering in a conference room in Washington, DC, Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and her advisors worked on a draft copy of articles of impeachment against President Bush.
At the heart of the charges contained in McKinney's articles of impeachment is the allegation that President Bush has not upheld the oath of presidential office and is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.
Article I states that President Bush has failed to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. Specifically cited in this article is the charge that Bush has manipulated intelligence and lied to justify war: "George Walker Bush … in preparing the invasion of Iraq, did withhold intelligence from the Congress, by refusing to provide Congress with the full intelligence picture that he was being given, by redacting information … and actively manipulating the intelligence on Iraq's alleged weapons programs by pressuring the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies."
This manipulation of intelligence was done, the charge continues, "with the intent to misinform the people and their representatives in Congress in order to gain their support for invading Iraq, denying both the people and their representatives in Congress the right to make an informed choice."
Article II, "Abuse of office and of executive privilege," states that President Bush has disregarded his oath of office by "obstructing and hindering the work of Congressional investigative bodies and by seeking to expand the scope of the powers of his office." The president has "failed to take responsibility for, investigate or discipline those responsible for an ongoing pattern of negligence, incompetence and malfeasance to the detriment of the American people."
This article continues by indicting Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in their actions to manipulate or "fix" intelligence and mislead the public about Iraq's weapons programs. Ultimately, this article calls not only for Bush's impeachment and removal from office but also asks the same actions to be taken against Cheney and Rice.
Article III states that President Bush has failed to "ensure the laws are faithfully executed" and that he has "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."
Specifically, McKinney cites illegal domestic spying as a result of failing to obtain warrants thereby subverting Congress and the judiciary in the process: "… by circumventing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act courts established by Congress, whose express purpose is to check such abuses of executive power, provoking the presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to file a complaint and another judge to resign in protest, the said program having been subsequently ruled illegal; he has also concealed the existence of this unlawful program of spying on American citizens from the people and all but a few of their representatives in Congress, even resorting to outright public deceit."
The article continues by citing public statements Bush has made that were blatantly contradictory to his policy and actions regarding domestic spying.
While the staff was editing the document, one advisor told me, "As we sat down and worked on this, a pattern became very clear … a pattern to specifically undermine the Constitution and establish a unitary presidency."
The charges addressed in McKinney's resolution are nothing revelatory or new. Rather, they are issues which have been in the public eye for quite some time and have increasingly been covered in the media over the last year.
Despite winning the Congressional majority, the Democrats have yet to put forth a plan to investigate what have become somewhat ubiquitous allegations.
Speaker-Elect and Congresswoman Pelosi dismissed any possibility of impeachment, saying it is "off the table" and that it is "a waste of time … making them lame-ducks is good enough for me," although, in the November election, 60 percent of the voters in her own district cast ballots in favor of Proposition J, a measure calling for the impeachment of President Bush.
In 2005, Congressman John Conyers sponsored a resolution, HR 365, to create a special committee to investigate allegations against the Bush administration - a move that would likely lead to the discovery of impeachable offenses. This resolution was passed to the House Committee on Rules and was never brought up for a vote.
At that time it was widely believed that if the Democrats took control of Congress, Conyers would reintroduce the resolution since he would have subpoena power if selected as leader of the House Judiciary Committee.
A few days after the Democrats won control, Conyers echoed Pelosi's statement, saying, "I am in total agreement with her on this issue … impeachment is off the table." Last week, a spokesperson from Conyers's office said that the resolution would not be reintroduced and that the congressman had no intention to pursue the matter.
Will other members of Congress support the action Congresswoman McKinney has brought forth?
At the table in what could be considered her impeachment "war room," the question is brought up a number of times.
Mike, an advisor to McKinney, mentions, "Conyers was supposed to have investigations. They were chomping at the bit 6 months ago to do subpoenas."
McKinney quietly replies, "Now they say they aren't even going to issue subpoenas."
Looking up from her papers, she takes a deep breath, "I'm going in alone on this one because now it is all about them playing majority politics."
This is McKinney's last week as a member of Congress and this act, to impeach the president, is the final resolution she will enter into the Congressional record.
For those who know anything about Cynthia McKinney, it may come as no surprise that she would file this resolution as her parting gift to Congress.
McKinney is no stranger to being attacked by the media and has been isolated from her own party.
From her inquiries into election fraud in 2000 to her calls for a transparent and thorough investigation into 9/11, not to mention the widely covered run-in she had with the Capitol Hill Police, the congresswoman is aware that this resolution will likely be ignored and that she will be ruthlessly attacked upon its filing.
"What do you think they are going to do to me this time?" she asks her staff. Everyone uncomfortably shifts in their seats, and after no answer comes, McKinney explains: "We have to do this because this is simply the right thing to do. The American people do want to hold this man and his office accountable for the crimes they have committed, and if no member of Congress is willing to do it, than I will."
It is questionable as to how effective this move could be in gaining support because of her reputation as a firebrand congresswoman and because, ultimately, she is on her way out of office.
The congresswoman and her staff realize this, but hope that by filing the articles of impeachment it will, at the very least, open up a discussion on whether or not President Bush and key members of his administration have committed impeachable offenses and whether our officials should be held to account.
"My duty as a member of Congress is merely to uphold and preserve the Constitution and to represent the will of my constituency. Ultimately, it isn't up to me or any other member of Congress - it is up to the American people to decide."
Matt Pascarella is a freelance journalist & producer who was present during the drafting of the Articles of Impeachment that Congresswoman McKinney filed today.
For more information:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120806Z....
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Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has introduced articles of impeachment [PDF] against George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Condoleezza Rice. In doing so, she alone has spoken for the 51 percent of Americans who Newsweek says want Bush impeached. A considerably higher percentage of Americans would, if asked, almost certainly acknowledge that the abuses with which McKinney charges Bush et al. have, in fact, been committed by them and are impeachable offenses. That is to say, there are those who recognize the grounds for impeachment but don't want to see them pursued. There are even those who want impeachment pursued but wish it were not being pursued by McKinney
McKinney charges that Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld manipulated intelligence and lied to justify war, and that Bush has engaged in illegal domestic spying. The former charge has been extremely well documented, and the latter proudly confessed to. The former charge was central to the concern of those who included impeachment in the U.S. Constitution. The latter charge is one of openly violating a law that was established in response to President Richard Nixon's impeachable offenses.
So, why aren't all impeachment advocates thrilled? Because McKinney's courage and leadership are overpowered, in their minds, by their own fears. They're afraid that impeachment will be painted as radical and that other people less insightful than themselves will, as a result, oppose it. They fail to recognize that silence is more damaging to the cause of justice than are attacks by its opponents, and that other Americans are just as smart (although just as scared) as they are. McKinney has put impeachment where Speaker-Designate Nancy Pelosi said it could not go: on the table. This can only benefit the cause of impeachment.
The media attacks on McKinney have begun, and rather than joining in them by condemning her for bravely doing what we know needed to be done, we should be defending her with a barrage of letters to editors and phone calls to radio shows. [ http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/alert/?alertid=9196431&type=ME ] And we should be urging every member of Congress to join her. [ http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/petition ] Associated Press reporter Ben Evans has published a vicious attack on McKinney in which he alleges that
"The legislation has no chance of passing and serves as a symbolic parting shot."
But in which Evans does not comment on public support for the action or the merits of the case. Instead, he suggests that McKinney has launched an attack directed as much at Pelosi as at Bush. But McKinney said nothing about Pelosi and accused Bush of the highest possible crime. Where are Evans' priorities?
Evans does not even say what the charges against Bush are. Rather he launches into an attack on McKinney:
"McKinney, a Democrat who drew national headlines in March when she struck a Capitol police officer, has long insisted that Bush was never legitimately elected. In introducing her legislation in the final hours of the current Congress, she said Bush had violated his oath of office to defend the Constitution and the nation's laws."
And she said nothing of the legitimacy of his election. McKinney was tried and convicted in the press, and was never indicted.
Evans later writes:
"McKinney … has increasingly embraced her image as a controversial figure."
How has she done that? By acting on behalf of a majority of Americans using a tool that appears centrally and in six places in our Constitution, a tool that has been vital to U.S. and British democracy for 700 years?
Evans isn't done yet:
"She has hosted numerous panels on Sept. 11 conspiracy theories…"
McKinney hosted a day-long briefing that included academics, authors, and former government and intelligence professionals, some of whom questioned the work of the 9-11 Commission, but none of whom presented theories.
"…and suggested that Bush had prior knowledge of the terrorist attacks but kept quiet about it to allow friends to profit from the aftermath."
McKinney asked about the reports that over a dozen foreign intelligence agencies had provided early warnings. She did not say that Bush kept it quiet to allow friends to profit. She asked whether his associates were making a profit, as of course many of them are through the "war on terror." Greg Palast has produced a film called "American Blackout," which addresses the media's misquoting and misrepresenting of Congresswoman McKinney on this issue.
Evans keeps going:
"She introduced legislation to establish a permanent collection of rapper Tupac Shakur's recordings at the National Archives and calling for a federal investigation into his killing."
The Tupac Amaru Shakur Records Act did not establish a permanent collection of his music at the Archives or create an investigation, but required the release of all government records relating to his life and death at federal, state, and local levels.
Evans persists:
"But it was her scuffle with a Capitol police officer that drew the most attention. McKinney struck the officer when he tried to stop her from entering a congressional office building. The officer did not recognize McKinney, who was not wearing her member lapel pin."
A Grand Jury heard these charges and dismissed them.
Evans says as much, but twists this fact with the words that follow:
"A grand jury in Washington declined to indict McKinney over the clash, but she eventually apologized before the House."
Now, what does any of that have to do with whether our President used fraud to take us into the current war? Nothing, of course. But in the U.S. corporate media it is only those who supported the war who have the right to speak against it. If you opposed the war from the start, if you saw through the lies while it still mattered, you are disqualified now from commenting further.
Matthew Daly, another Associated Press reporter, wrote an article on Friday that contrasted with the one by Evans. The headline was "Smith says Iraq war may be 'criminal'". And the article began:
"Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, who voted in favor of the Iraq war and has supported it ever since, now says the current U.S. war effort is 'absurd' and 'may even be 'criminal.'"
Of course, it is. But Smith called it such in the vaguest of terms. McKinney laid out the evidence in an Article of Impeachment. Look at the treatment the AP gave Smith:
"In a major speech on the Senate floor, the Oregon senator called for rapid pullouts of U.S. troops from Iraq and said he would have never voted for the conflict if he had known the intelligence that President Bush gave the American people was inaccurate."
Why was his speech "major"? Because he supported a criminal war on the basis of evidence that millions of us and half the Democrats in Congress saw through at the time.
The article went on to quote Smith on his reasons for charging that the war is criminal, but added nothing about his embracing controversy, splitting with the Republican party, or having done anything unpopular in the past:
"Citing the hundreds of billions of dollars spent and the nearly 3,000 American deaths, Smith said, 'I for one am at the end of my rope when it comes to supporting a policy that has our soldiers patrolling the same streets in the same way being blown up by the same bombs day after day. That is absurd. It may even be criminal. So either we clear and hold and build or let's go home.'"
This treatment continued for seven more paragraphs.
Congresswoman McKinney is not only a more intelligent and responsible public servant than Senator Smith, but she is also someone who foresaw the current attacks on her record and forged ahead anyway. She understands her role as public servant to involve serving the public. And, in the long run, she is serving the interests of the Democratic Party, whether everyone in that party grasps the point or not. She's stuck her neck out for us, for our democracy, for the rule of law under our Constitution. Now, we need to support her.
Sunday, December 10th, is Human Rights Day, the 58th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document that lays out, in 30 short articles, rights that every human should have protected. Eleven out of the 30 have clearly been violated in the United States by President Bush and his administration, rights including:
Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 12: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence….
This Human Rights Day, many of us have worked to organize rallies for impeachment all over the country. They will now also be rallies to honor and thank Cynthia McKinney. Find an event near you:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/december10