Guest blogged by Jon Ponder, Pensito Review.
There will be a hearing related to Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s Article of Impeachment against George Bush in the House Judiciary Committee. That was assured by a vote of 238 to 180 on Tuesday. (Details on that hearing, now posted here.)
But, according to Keith Olbermann on MSNBC’s “Countdown” last night, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has mandated that questioning in the hearing be relegated to Bush’s abuses of power, not his criminal wrongdoing.
“There’s never been one [hearing] that accumulated all the things that constitute an imperial presidency,†said Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, according to CQ Politics. He indicated topics covered in the hearing would include the firing of U.S. attorneys for political reasons, the betrayal of CIA agent Valerie Plame and Bush’s alleged lying to Congress about the reasons for invading Iraq.
Kucinich’s single Article of Impeachment only deals with Bush’s lies to Congress.
There were no Democratic votes against holding the hearing. While 180 Republicans voted to follow their Dear Leader lock-step over the cliff, 10 Republicans abstained and nine Republican members of Congress voted with the Democrats. Here are their names…
Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas)
Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (Md.)
Rep. Walter B. Jones (N.C.)
Rep. Don Manzullo (Ill.)
Rep. Tim Murphy (Penn.)
Rep. Ron Paul (Texas)
Rep. Dave Reichert (Wash.)
Rep. Christopher Shays (Conn.)
Rep. Mike Turner (Ohio)
Kucinich, who earlier this week smartly summarized why Impeachment matters, promises a surprise witness against Bush. Also from CQ Politics: “An unidentified government official of a U.S. ally wants to participate if and when Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich makes his case to impeach President Bush before the House Judiciary Committee, according to the Ohio Democrat.”
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi has mandated that questioning in the hearing be relegated to Bush’s abuses of power, not his criminal wrongdoing.”; now why would she do that? And what is she going to do to Conyers if he doesn’t follow the ‘mandate’?
More kabuki theater from the Dem ‘leadership’. How does ‘abuse of power’ meet impeachment specifications of “The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”?
My hopes are that the hearing will gain worldwide attention because the more pressure Bush regime receives the less likely it will attack Iran.
We have to keep the pressure cooker working until Bush is riding the cold winter hills with Bin Laden.
Go Ron Paul!
I just can’t help but wonder, with all the resistance from the Dem leadership against holding this administration accountable for its crimes…
What has Bush & Co. got on Pelosi and Reid? Clearly the Dems knew about the warrantless wiretapping and refused to honor their oaths of office and stand up for the American people. Now that the American People are outraged and calling for action, Dems are covering their asses by refusing to let it go any more public than it already has.
One has to wonder… what else is in their closets???
These are 9 republicans who are very concerned over their reelection possibilities this Fall. If this were 2007 I doubt if you’d have 4.
When it comes to justice, democrats have dial-up and republicans have broadband.
Well, local Comcast took C-Span 2 off it’s schedule here and moved C-Span to a channel that gets horrible reception. They also want to start charging for an HBO cable box add-on. That was the last straw so I decided to cancel my Comcast, (a company which cares nothing for the American people), and upgrade to broadband internet on the honorable Qwest, whose president rejected Bush’s demands to illegally wiretap it’s customers and paid a price for false criminal charges like Don Siegelman.
Now I can watch all of Alan’s cool videos!
CFarer43 #2
Exactly!
Shades of Nixon in ’74.
RE “These are 9 republicans who are very concerned over their reelection possibilities this Fall. If this were 2007 I doubt if you’d have 4.”
Maybe for the 8 that aren’t Ron Paul. His views are well-known, and he has no opposition in November.
Hooray for all 9, at any rate.
My hypothesis is that the hearings were delayed for political reasons related to the elections. It is true that the Dems have their own issues with dark secrets. But think about this: had they impeached earlier it might have put Pelosi in the White House ahead of Hilary.
Just a thought.
Will they impeach Cheney & Bush simultaneously? Apparently it’s possible.
after downing st
Ron Paul and Walter Jones, video link at the top of the page, giving an intensely critical (of the war)perspective. This was over 2 years ago now.
And remember that Walter Jones was the guy who had the dipshit idea of naming French Fries “Freedom Fries.” His father was a Democratic representative.
Welcome back Walter Jr. Stay awhile.
I finally got off my a.. and emailed my Senators yesterday to use their influence to move Impeachment forward in the House. Meanwhile, I think I will write a book: HOW TO ROB A BANK: THE REPUBLICAN METHOD – Chapter One: Start a war to divert attention ….
Nothing – and I mean NOTHING – positive that this Democratic Congress accomplishes will out weigh the terrible damage that IT has caused by its failure to do its CONSTITUTIONAL duty. Congress’ refusal to IMPEACH Bush and Cheney is cowardly and inexcuseable. History will judge this Congress very harshly.
What they have over them is that they are being blackmailed! If you look at what they have done to Monica Conyers in Detroit you realize the “fix” is in. Conyers is being blackmailed and so is Pelosi. They have something on them and they will stall until the clock runs out on the 110th Congress.
Bribe probe ensnarls Conyers
Feds: Surveillance evidence suggests councilwoman took money tied to waste pact
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080705/METRO/807050357
{Ed Note: Disinformation Festival Deleted: McCain was born in Panama to American parents and Obama was born in Hawaii to an American mother. –99}
I just spoke with Rep. Kuchinich’s office in DC and ‘impeachment’ will NOT be a subject of the Judiciary Cmte. hearings; just more kabuki theater from Conyers. They ought to just say ‘we are NOT interested in having accountability’.
You guys talk as if you have never heard of the New World Order, the Illuminati, the Bilderbergers, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, NAFTA, two Border Patrolmen in prison for legally shooting a criminal drug smuggler, 25 million illegals, or $69 trillion in debt. WAKE UP! The CFR has the 2008 election sewed up like they did 2000 and 2004. We are about to lose our country.