Richard WarnickImpeachment: Wexler Wants Hearings
Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and the House Judiciary Committee have been a huge disappointment. Conyers talked a good game about impeachment when the Democrats were in the minority. Since becoming chairman, he has refused to hold any impeachment hearings.
The House Judiciary Committee has before it a resolution introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) calling for Cheney’s impeachment and accusing the vice president of a raft of high crimes, including manipulating intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war, obstructing federal investigations and conspiring to expose the identity of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Six-term Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) and two other members of the committee, Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), are becoming frustrated at the lack of action. They tried to take their case to influential op-ed pages of the nation’s largest newspapers. They were turned down by every one — including the New York Times, Washington Post and Miami Herald.
In an interview with Raw Story, Wexler said:
“The truth is the mainstream media have no interest in this issue… They have bought into the notion that impeachment hearings are outside the bounds of what the Congress ought to be doing.”
Rep. Wexler has started an online petition on a website linked to his re-election campaign, WexlerWantsHearings.com. His goal is 50,000 signatures. The rejected op-ed from the three Judiciary Committee Members can be read at this site.
UPDATE: Read Congressman Wexler’s HuffPo post.
Unlike the show trial put on by Republicans against President Clinton, a proper impeachment hearing would involve a fair and objective presentation of the facts without hyperbole or political gamesmanship. The hard evidence that is presented at the hearings will be judged fully both by Congress and the American people. The evidence alone will determine the outcome, and if it is determined that Vice President Cheney committed “High Crimes and Misdemeanors” he should be properly impeached and put on trial before the Senate.
UPDATE: On DailyKos, Dave Lindorff has more, including the news that Rep. Kucinich is preparing articles of impeachment for President Bush.
UPDATE: As of 5:45 pm Sunday, Wexler’s petition was up to 61,987 signers.
December 15th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Thanks for the links Richard. I signed Wexler’s petition and it looks like he’s not going to have any trouble getting 50,000. It was 43,215 when I signed.
This petition has had nearly a million signatures for a long, long time. I signed it many years ago. They don’t show a list of the signatories, but I was signed up before it reached 17,000. I like to think I was ahead of my time.
December 18th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Hearings on impeachment should be proposed by all supporters above and include Finegold, Conyers,Kucinich,and the above Wexler at al.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
We have your back. Force Bush to pardon Cheney,that will crush the “Right Wing Radicals” I am watching to see who don’t vote with you. We don’t need anyone in either Houses that won’t vote with you.
P.S.
Take Leiberman’s chairmanship away from him when we get one more Democrat Senator.
January 16th, 2008 at 11:21 am
[...] night, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) took to the House floor to urge the House Judiciary Committee to begin impeachment hearings into [...]