House sends Impeachment to hearings. 9 GOPers defected.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2008-07-16 08:08pm

Congressional panel to review Kucinich's call to impeach Bush
But the House committee won't actually consider removing the president from office.
From the Associated Press
July 16, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich's single article of impeachment will get a committee hearing -- but not on removing President Bush from office.

The House on Tuesday voted 238 to 180 to send his impeachment article -- for Bush's reasoning in taking the country to war in Iraq -- to the Judiciary Committee, which buried Kucinich's previous 35-article effort in June.

This time, the panel will open hearings, possibly as soon as next week. But House Democratic leaders said the proceedings would not be about Bush's impeachment, a first step in the Constitution's process of a removing a president from office.

Instead, the panel will conduct an election-year review -- possibly televised -- of anything Democrats consider to be Bush's abuse of power. Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat, is likely to testify. So will several scholars and administration critics, Democrats said.

The hearing is a modest gesture by House Democratic leaders to members like Kucinich who insist that Bush's reasons for going to war meet the standard for impeachment.

Kucinich had said that if his impeachment article was tabled he would simply propose another one. In June, he spent four hours on the House floor reading his longer resolution into the record, only to see it buried in committee.

I'm iffy on how the House Dems will enforce the 'But no impeachment!' stuff after sending an impeachment article to Wexler and Conyers. But still, it's quite late, even if it blooms into the full thing.

Sriad · Post by **Sriad** » 2008-07-16 09:05pm

At this point I'd rather see Bush ride out the last 6 months of his term before criminal charges are brought against his lot to make pardons as unlikely as possible. At this late stage full impeachment would make little difference nationally.

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2008-07-16 10:02pm

Sriad wrote:At this point I'd rather see Bush ride out the last 6 months of his term before criminal charges are brought against his lot to make pardons as unlikely as possible. At this late stage full impeachment would make little difference nationally.

Well, at least Bush will be remembered as the president who got impeached.

Also, if by oft chance McCain takes the presidency, he can still issue the pardons.

Kanastrous · Post by **Kanastrous** » 2008-07-16 10:22pm

Sriad wrote:At this point I'd rather see Bush ride out the last 6 months of his term before criminal charges are brought against his lot to make pardons as unlikely as possible. At this late stage full impeachment would make little difference nationally.

Perhaps burying their legal staff under a hail of impeachment-related flack, would obstruct them in arranging the slew of outrageous dirty pardons and secret favors they're doubtless already looking forward to delivering.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2008-07-17 12:55am

Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:
Sriad wrote:At this point I'd rather see Bush ride out the last 6 months of his term before criminal charges are brought against his lot to make pardons as unlikely as possible. At this late stage full impeachment would make little difference nationally.
Well, at least Bush will be remembered as the president who got impeached.

No, he won't. The article states they will NOT be considering impeaching him.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2008-07-17 12:58am

I'm not quite sure what's up at this point. An article just on Iraq was let through, but Conyers is opening it to all abuses of power. He may be trying to force some hands.

CmdrWilkens · Post by **CmdrWilkens** » 2008-07-17 10:15am

The hearings really will be a great venue to get everything out in the open and since its an impeachment hearing any claims of privledge will be significantly weaker. By opening it up to abuse of power beyond just Iraq Conyers may be trying to put extra pressure on Meiers, Bolton and Rove along with backing up the suit in court attempting to force Mukaskey to prosecute the aforesaid for contempt.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2008-07-17 04:44pm

yeah, I just wish that somehow wecould see a small fraction of what really has been going on...

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2008-07-17 04:58pm

SirNitram wrote:I'm not quite sure what's up at this point. An article just on Iraq was let through, but Conyers is opening it to all abuses of power. He may be trying to force some hands.

My guess is that it's all bread and circuses. It will be good television and embarrass the Republicans, but the articles of impeachment will never make it out of committee. If Conyers was really planning on using the impeachment process to override executive privilege on attorney firings, Gitmo, and other scandals, it would have been leaked months ago as a threat.

The Democratic leadership's strategy is "We're going to win the election anyway, so there's no point risking a backlash by impeaching a guy who will be out of office in six months anyway". Even if impeachment were on the table, you'd never find sixteen Republicans in the Senate to vote to convict. The Wonder Chimp is going to hand out broad pardons to everyone he can think of; while I'm hopeful there will be loopholes left in by accident (always possible, considering how incompetent the administration is), I sincerely doubt it will be possible to criminally prosecute the people at the top who have been responsible for the last eight years. About the only hope for the Wonder Chimp's cronies getting what they deserve are war crimes tribunals in another country.