There's hope (for impeachment) in the Judiciary Committee yet

There is interest in impeaching Cheney in the House Judiciary Committee (of which NC Rep. Mel Watt is a member) after all.  Representative Robert Wexler of Florida recently started a petition for impeachment hearings against Cheney (see www.wexlerwantshearings.com).  Within 24 hours more than 30,000 people had signed, and 121,179 after 5 days.  Now the goal is 250,000.  A recent poll reveals that 54% of Americans are for impeaching Cheney, and I think that will rise when the official voices in Congress and editorial departments begin to highlight his crimes.  If I remember right, 49% are for impeaching Bush currently, but I expect all of the top Administration officials are about equally guilty.  Unfortunately the head of the Committee, Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, formerly a leader on impeachment in the House, has now cynically fallen in line with Pelosi's line, and was again arguing against it on Democracy Now! Thursday.  Maybe he has honestly reevaluated the case and changed his mind about the strategy of impeachment, but I still find his change of heart suspicious.  Hopefully Wexler and two others in the Judiciary Committee will be more resolute and successful than Conyers.      

 

Some outlets in the dominant media are refusing to publish an op-ed by Rep. Wexler and two other members of the Committee, Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).  This is from the campaign:   

 

"More on the Media Blackout

 

The New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, USA Today, and Boston Globe have all rejected our op ed (though the Miami Herald just put an edited version in its "Letters to the Editor" section). We have heard from the editors of some of these publications and they are telling us that they are getting overwhelmed with phone calls and letters of complaint. (Well done everybody!)

 

In short - we need to keep the pressure on if this news will spread far beyond the Netroots community."

 

Here is the original notice from Rep. Wexler's site: 

 

Wexler Calls For Cheney Impeachment Hearings

Congressman Robert Wexler, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, is calling upon Congress to immediately schedule impeachment hearings for Vice President Richard Cheney.

Wexler - "For the sake of history, and in order to be faithful to our Constitutional obligations, the Judiciary Committee must immediately convene impeachment hearings to determine whether the official actions of Vice President Cheney constitute 'High Crimes and Misdemeanors' and require that he be impeached. Each day we fail to act is a validation of the misdeeds of the Vice President and damages the credibility of the Democratic Party."

The full text of the Letter:

As a person who supports holding this Administration accountable for their deceptive actions, you may be interested to know about the recent votes in the House regarding H.Res. 333, "Impeaching Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors."

I share your belief that Vice President Cheney must answer for his deceptive actions in office, particularly with regard to the preparations for the Iraq war and the revelation of the identity of covert agent Valerie Plame Wilson as part of political retribution against her husband. That is why I voted against the motion to table debate on H.Res. 333. Along with only 85 other Democrats, I opposed tabling the measure and supported beginning immediate debate and a vote on the Cheney impeachment resolution. The vote on tabling the Kucinich resolution was rejected, and the House subsequently voted to refer the matter to the Judiciary Committee.

Vice President Dick Cheney and the Bush Administration have demonstrated a consistent pattern of abusing the law and misleading Congress and the American people. We see the consequences of these actions abroad in Iraq and at home through the violations of our civil liberties. The American people are served well with a legitimate and thorough impeachment inquiry. I will urge the Judiciary Committee to schedule impeachment hearings immediately and not let this issue languish as it has over the last six months.

Only through hearings can we begin to correct the abuses of Dick Cheney and the Bush Administration; and, if it is determined in these hearings that Vice President Cheney has committed High Crimes and Misdemeanors, he should be impeached and removed from office. It is time for Congress to expose the multitude of misdeeds of the Administration, and I am hopeful that the Judiciary Committee will expeditiously begin an investigation of this matter.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns. I sincerely appreciate your input and hope that you will feel free to contact me anytime I may be of assistance to you.

With warm regards,

Congressman Robert Wexler