Vermont towns vote to arrest Bush and Cheney

March 5, 2008
Vermont towns vote to arrest Bush and Cheney

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Voters in two Vermont towns on Tuesday approved a measure that would instruct police to arrest President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for "crimes against our Constitution," local media reported.

The nonbinding, symbolic measure, passed in Brattleboro and Marlboro in a state known for taking liberal positions on national issues, instructs town police to "extradite them to other authorities that may reasonably contend to prosecute them."

White House defends use of torture

February 6, 2008
White House defends use of torture

WASHINGTON - The White House on Wednesday defended the use of the interrogation technique known as waterboarding, saying it is legal — not torture as critics argue — and has saved American lives.

President Bush could authorize waterboarding for future terrorism suspects if certain criteria are met, a spokesman said.

A day earlier, the Bush administration acknowledged publicly for the first time that the tactic was used by U.S. government questioners on three terror suspects. Testifying before Congress, CIA Director Michael Hayden said Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri were waterboarded in 2002 and 2003.

Why I Believe Bush Must Go

January 6, 2008
Why I Believe Bush Must Go

As we enter the eighth year of the Bush-Cheney administration, I have belatedly and painfully concluded that the only honorable course for me is to urge the impeachment of the president and the vice president.

Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses. They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly "high crimes and misdemeanors," to use the constitutional standard.

CNN's Jack Cafferty Deplores Chris Dodd for Arguing Against Impeaching Bush

August 21, 2007
CNN's Jack Cafferty Deplores Chris Dodd for Arguing Against Impeaching Bush

Cafferty had charged: "This President has pulled off a power grab in
the name of the war on terror the likes of which this country hasn't seen in a very long time. And in the process, people who are a lot smarter than I am suggest that he has broken this nation's laws over and over and over again. From invading a sovereign nation without provocation to torturing prisoners to the NSA spy program, to holding people without a right to a court hearing or a lawyer, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera." Amongst the e-mails Cafferty read, one declared: "Of course George Bush deserves to be impeached, and he should also be thrown in jail." Another writer recommended: "He should be 'legally' water-boarded until he can recite the Bill of Rights and define habeas corpus."

So, Senator Dodd is putting the election prospects of the Democratic Party next year ahead of whether or not President Bush might be guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors of a kind which would mandate his removal from office. Congress's job is oversight of the executive branch -- unless, of course, that oversight interferes with getting elected. Here's the question, then: "Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd says it would be a mistake for Democrats to impeach President Bush. Is he right?" E-mail caffertyfile@cnn.com, or go to cnn.com/cafferty file. It's a
pretty amazing statement to come out of Senator Dodd's mouth, Wolf."

Censure and Impeachment

July 23, 2007
Censure and Impeachment

Feingold is renewing and extending a call for censure that that the Wisconsin Democrat initially made in March, 2006. The senator now proposes one resolution censuring the president, the vice president and their aides for overstating the case that Saddam Hussein had WMDs, particularly nuclear weapons, and falsely implying a relationship with al Qaeda and links to 9/11; for failing to plan for the civil conflict and humanitarian problems that the intelligence community predicted; for over-stretching the Army, Marine Corps and Guard with prolonged deployments and for justifying U.S. military involvement in Iraq by repeatedly distorting the situation on the ground there. A second resolution would censure the administration for approving the illegal NSA warrantless wiretapping program, for promoting extreme policies on torture, the Geneva Conventions, and detainees at Guantanamo; and for refusing to recognize legitimate congressional oversight into the improper firings of U.S. Attorneys.

A place to push impeachment

July 5, 2007

A place to push impeachment

If President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney were ever to be impeached, their foes could cite this Independence Day as a milestone — the day that the nation's first "impeachment headquarters" opened its doors in a storefront near the Beverly Center.

"This is an impeachment 4th of July," Byron De Lear, a Green Party activist, said Wednesday. He called removing Bush and Cheney "a patriotic duty to restore the integrity of the United States."

Those assembled cited various Bush actions or policies, including "lies that led the U.S. into war."

They also said that Bush--Cheney policies precipitated torture, illegal spying on American citizens, and the curtailment of privacy and civil rights in the name of fighting terrorism.

The latest irritant was the president's decision to commute the prison sentence of former Cheney aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, whom a jury convicted of obstructing justice.

"Isn't it ironic that Paris Hilton will spend more days in jail than Libby?" said De Lear.

A 9/11 Father, Lifelong Republican, Says: Time To Impeach Bush

June 2, 2007
A 9/11 Father, Lifelong Republican, Says: Time To Impeach Bush

The person most responsible for the failure to exclude dangerous aliens from our country, most responsible for refusing to use his power to remove those already here, has been America's Chief Disregarder of the Law: President George W. Bush.

Consider: Four of the Fort Dix Six would have been eligible for the Bush Amnesty. Several of those who were involved in the 1993 World Trade Center attacks (including ringleader Ramzi Yousef) had been granted legal permanent resident status thanks to the 1986 amnesty (specifically the Agricultural Worker provision authored by then NYC Representative Charles Schumer, presumably on behalf of the strawberry farmers of Brooklyn). All of the 9/11 terrorists would have been eligible for the Bush amnesty if they had postponed their attacks until after passage of the Kyl-Kennedy-Bush bill. The list of these amnestied or eligible-for-amnesty criminals goes on and on. And we really only know of the criminals whose crimes made the front pages. How many other Americans were killed or raped in crimes committed by Bush amnesty eligible aliens in crimes that did not make the headlines?

Conyers: Impeach Bush & Cheney

May 30, 2007
Conyers: Impeach Bush & Cheney

DETROIT (AP) - Detroit Congressman John Conyers says he supports a national effort calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

But he stopped short today of pledging to take action to back it.

The veteran democratic lawmaker chairs the House Judiciary Committee, which would lead any impeachment hearings.

Conyers did say that he encourages nationwide efforts to build support for impeaching Bush.

Alberto Gonzales and the Geneva Convention

May 25, 2007
Alberto Gonzales and the Geneva Convention

But Gonzales wouldn't have to go to cases from Singapore to find how inhuman treatment was defined under the Geneva Convention.

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, the Tokyo war crimes trial of major Japanese leaders, organized by American General Douglas MacArthur held months of hearings on the inhuman treatment of POWs and civilian internees. Prosecutors spent days summing up cases of inhuman treatment before the tribunal.

All the war crimes trials at the end of the Second World War came under the jurisdiction of the UN War Crimes Commission, and the U.S. and Britain were the main countries that planned the trials, so the records defining the term inhuman treatment were easily available to anyone who looked hard enough.

13 State Democratic Parties Demand Impeachment

May 19, 2007
13 State Democratic Parties Demand Impeachment

Thirteen state Democratic parties have now passed resolutions demanding impeachment, nine of them since Nancy Pelosi ordered the Democratic Party away from impeachment.

"Whereas George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney have:

• Deliberately misled the nation about the threat from Iraq in order to justify a war;
• Condoned the torture of prisoners in violation of the Geneva Convention & US law;
• Approved illegal electronic surveillance of American citizens without a warrant."

The majority of these resolutions have never been reported in the media. Therefore, this list is almost certainly incomplete. So are the following tallies:

• Cities and towns that have backed impeachment by resolution, public vote, or both: 79.
  
• Largest cities: Detroit, home of the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and San Francisco, home of the Speaker of the House.
  
• Earliest and most frequent city: Santa Cruz beginning in 2003.
  
• States where impeachment has been introduced into the legislature at least once: 10 (California, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont).
  
• State legislative bodies that have voted on impeachment: 3 (Vermont Senate, Vermont House, New Mexico Senate).
  
• State legislative bodies that have passed impeachment resolutions: 1 (Vermont Senate).
  
• National political parties backing impeachment: 1 (Green).
  
• Non-Democratic state political parties backing impeachment: 2 (Vermont Progressives, California Greens).
  
• Democrats Abroad Chapters backing impeachment: 1.
  
• Local political party organizations that have backed impeachment: 32.
  
• Labor unions backing impeachment: 1.
  
• Page listing all these resolutions: http://impeachpac.org/resolutions-list
  
• How to make corrections or additions to the list: http://afterdowningstreet.org/listadditions
  
• Organization helping promote Democratic Party resolutions, including those recently passed in Massachusetts and California: http://pdamerica.org
  
• Articles of impeachment introduced against Bush: 3 (by Rep. Cynthia McKinney).
  
• Articles of impeachment introduced against Cheney: 3 (by Congressman Dennis Kucinich, H Res. 333, http://www.impeachcheney.org ).
  
• Impeachment Resource Center: http://afterdowningstreet.org/resourcecenter
  

Poll: 39% support impeaching Bush AND Cheney

May 8, 2007
Poll: 39% support impeaching Bush AND Cheney

About four out of 10 Americans favor impeaching the president and vice president. But the biggest news from this survey is not the overall results, but the opinions of independent voters, who usually decide presidential elections.

Forty-two percent of independents want Bush and Cheney impeached. These aren't just voters who disapprove of the White House. Instead, they're for initiating a process that could remove them from office.

Has Bush Committed Impeachable Acts?

April 30, 2007
Has Bush Committed Impeachable Acts?

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, who served as the chief prosecutor of the major Nazi war criminals, called starting a war without cause the "supreme war crime" because all other war crimes flow from it.

Although the Bush administration uses the language of war, such as "War on Terrorism," it insisted that the prisoners captured in Afghanistan were not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Conventions because they did not wear uniforms. President Bush's attorney called the Geneva Conventions "quaint." However, the same administration claimed a right to detain these prisoners indefinitely without any kind of hearing on the grounds that prisoners of war can be detained without hearing until the war ends. President Bush uses the international law of warfare selectively, saying it applies when it suits his purposes but does not apply when it does not suit his purposes.

My conclusion: It is the political will to impeach, not the legal grounds, that we lack.

Murtha: Impeachment is back on the table

April 30, 2007
Murtha: Impeachment is back on the table

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) revised the much publicized statements he made yesterday and told National Public Radio late on Monday afternoon that impeaching President George W. Bush was "on the table."

"I'm just saying that's one of the options that Congress has on the table, I'm getting more and more calls from the public about impeachment," the long-time Congressman, who is a veteran of the US Marines, told NPR's Melissa Block on the program All Things Considered.

Murtha's remark was at variance with Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who has insisted since prior to the Congressional election last year that returned a Democratic majority in the House that impeachment was "off the table."

Capitol protestors campaign to impeach Bush

April 26, 2007
Capitol protestors campaign to impeach Bush

American anti-war activists and other opponents of the Bush Administration are trying to drum up a nationwide campaign to impeach the President.

A rally at the US Capitol overnight attracted a diverse coalition of administration critics, all united in the view that George W Bush has abused his powers and lied to the American people.

One of the key speakers was Cindy Sheehan, who has been railing against Mr Bush ever since her son was killed in Iraq.

"The only solution to end this war is to impeach them, impeach the liars, impeach the murderers, and get our troops home," she said.

Vermont pushes bid to impeach Bush

April 20, 2007
Vermont pushes bid to impeach Bush

The senate in the northeastern US state of Vermont passed a resolution Friday calling on Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush, senate officials said.

The largely symbolic move, which stands little chance of going much further, was approved by 16 votes to nine and followed a public rally this week in the state capital Montpelier calling for Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to go.

"I was deeply moved by the meeting on Tuesday and I've been a supporter of this consistently from the beginning," Democratic Senate President Peter Shumlin told the Vermont Guardian newspaper.

"There hasn't been a president of the United States of America who has worked harder for impeachment hearings than President Bush and Vice President Cheney," he was quoted as saying.

'Doonesbury' Character Calls for Bush anc Cheney Impeachment

April 18, 2007 (two articles)
'Doonesbury' Character Calls for Bush anc Cheney Impeachment

NEW YORK A day after "Doonesbury" character Mark Slackmeyer called for President Bush's impeachment, he said he wants the same fate for Vice President Cheney.

In today's comic, Mark continues to look at reader e-mails with Mike Doonesbury. "A.F." of Omaha writes, "Dear Mike: What do you think of the conservative strips that papers buy to balance your politics?" -- referring to comics such as "Mallard Fillmore" and "Prickly City."

Impeach - Time is Running Out

April 13, 2007
Impeach - Time is Running Out

The Washington Post editorial page has become a virtual Bush administration megaphone. ABC, CNN, CBS and NBC -- all the corporate-owned television news outlets -- gleefully and zealously parroted the administration's dishonest and despicable slander campaign regarding Speaker Pelosi's recent visit to Syria...complete with ignoring the visit by a Congressional Republican delegation. There is even a newspaper in Georgia that is running an unpaid serialized column written by a General in Iraq. That is Soviet-style propaganda, pure and simple. But what does it mean?

What it means is that Democracy in the United States is under attack like never before.

Time is running out for the Democrats. The corporate-owned media has made their move...they've gone "all in" on the bet that when the Iraq War smoke clears, the Republicans will be the only Party left standing.

Impeach!

Liberals push to impeach Bush

April 6, 2007
Liberals push to impeach Bush

"We Democrats have to show the people of this country that we're better than that," he said.
Sen. Russ Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat, last year authored a resolution calling on Congress to censure Mr. Bush for his warrantless wiretapping program. He told The Times that he is unlikely to reintroduce the bill or push for impeachment hearings.

"The election in many ways was a censure of the president and his performance in a number of these areas," Mr. Feingold said, noting that voters want Congress to tackle Iraq policy, health care and government accountability.

"Impeachment might make it look like we don't care about the other stuff," he said. "I don't think it serves the American people well, even though if there ever was a president that deserved to be removed, this is probably the guy."

Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, backed censure last year but said the focus now should be on oversight. "It's a chance to change the administration's behavior, not just to express disappointment," said Kerry spokeswoman Amy Brundage.

Impeachment's Back in the News

April 6, 2007
Impeachment's Back in the News

In an April 5 article, the Washington Times interviewed several members of Congress, noting along the way that Congressional Democrats report that "constituents are clamoring" for impeachment of the president.

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) is quoted as saying he gets "one call after another" calling on him to impeach the president, but he goes on to say impeachment would be "a very divisive thing...and at this point I don't see that happening."

Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), one of the House's most liberal members, reportedly calls impeachment pointless and a distraction from the presidential election. Diane Watson (D-CA), another of the most liberal members of Congress, says she gets calls for impeachment from every crowd she speaks to, and says that while she would support impeachment herself, it's "not a strategy our new leadership would want to start with."

Biden says Bush could be impeached

April 4, 2007
Biden says Bush could be impeached

DES MOINES, Iowa — Delaware Sen. Joe Biden said a case could be made to impeach President Bush, but that such a step would be politically impractical.

Biden told about 200 students at Drake University Law School Tuesday that most Americans wouldn't want to impeach Bush. He said such a move would be bad politics and could have unintended consequences.

"I don't want to impeach Bush — because I don't want Cheney," he said, referring to Vice President Dick Cheney.