Bush impeachment comes up again
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/07/25/art.kucinich.gi.jpg caption="Kucinich is pushing for the impeachment of President Bush."]WASHINGTON (CNN) - At a crowded Judiciary Committee hearing today, House Democrats talked about impeaching President Bush.... to the disgust of the committee's Republicans.
It was purely stagecraft. The day's star witness, Ohio Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich, received a noisy ovation filled with cheering, clapping and whistling as he walked into the hearing room. Kucinich, who has introduced articles of impeachment, exhorted the committee to "support and defend the constitution that has been trampled time and again over the last seven years."
The hearing, technically, was not about impeachment but about executive power and its constitutional limitations. Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D-Michigan, ticked-down a list of items that included, in his words, "the politicization of the Department of Justice, the misuse of signing statements, the misuse of authority with regard to detention, interrogation and rendition, possible manipulation of intelligence regarding the Iraq war, improper retaliation against critics of the administration... and excessive secrecy."
While Conyers called the evidence "both credible and substantial," Republicans scoffed.
Texas Rep. Lamar Smith, the senior Republican on the committee, dismissed the hearings as "an anger management class."
For more on the impeachment back-and-forth, tune into Campbell Brown: Election Center tonight at 8 pm ET.
"This hearing will not cause us to impeach the president; it will only serve to impeach Congress's credibility," Smith said. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Arizona, went further with his criticism, saying Friday’s session "amuses our terrorist friends greatly," and "would make Alice in Wonderland roll her eyes.”
In the end, the committee took no action toward beginning an impeachment inquiry.
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Please, just impeach him already. Oh, and Dick Cheney, too.
It's sad that Congress has let the Bush/Cheney abuse of power go on virtually unchecked for so long now that impeaching him in the last six months of his term seems all but impossible.
Even sadder that Republicans scoff at this, the same repugnants who were so quick to bring a bill of impeachment against Senator Clinton!
What hipocracy!!
Um, 'lil bush IS a criminal! He SHOULD be impeached! It'll never happen, but we can all dream. What may really happen is that we might actually have a President voted into office that the whole country won't be ashamed of, though! No more GOP (Greedy Old People)! Go Obama!
This country is in real trouble unless both sides get over themselves. This isn't about Republican or Democrat anymore. Pandora's box is open and no one is willing to close it.
Rep. Kucinich – Thank you
Our elected Representatives owe it to this nation to investigate all of the constitutiuonal abuses purportrated by the Worst President Ever.
– How on Earth did America authorize the torture of detainees?
– What happened to impartiality at the Justice Department?
– Who told the telephone companies it was OK to intercept American phone calls without a warrant?
– Why do former Administration officials flout Congressional subpoenas with impunity?
– Why was America led to war in Iraq with flimsy, or even false intelligence?
WHY HAS NO ONE BEEN HELD RESPONSIBLE?
Republicans and mental recession.
bush should be impeached along with chenney. rove should be put in jail, like any other citizen who has committed a crime.
Doesn't this idiot have anything better to do? He already made a fool of himself during the primaries, now he's venting against the President, just because he was rejected categorically from being his party's nominee for president. As if could do a better job! With proceedings like this, its no wonder politicians get the rap for doing nothing.
At least there is ONE MAN listening to the millions in this Nation who believe this administration should have been tossed out long ago.
Shame on Pelosi and Reid for not having the guts. Never seen such cowardice at the expense of the Nation then what has been NOT been done by the democratic leadership.
Congrats to Kucinich. You sir, are a muscular leader.
Stop it – stop it right now, dems and reps. You are all acting childishly. Hooting and hollaring, creating a scene – we all know that this is payback from Clinton. And reps, you are just as much at fault. When you were in power you behaved just as badly. Time for a solid, moderate ADULT third party NOW!
I got a better idea. Let's impeach the whole congress. Remember congress authorized the war.
Oh God if we had a congress and senate with the gall the republicans did during Clinton's administration there might actually be an impeachment of George Bush. OMG what am I saying that means Cheney would be in charge. Is it possible to impeach both simultaneously.
Mr. Kuchinich was trying to get attention.
After 8 years of political boondoggle I think congress could safely look into impeachment...
this process is necessary in order to investigate many issues the American people have questioned during the 8yrs of this administration
I THINK WE HAVE BIGGER PROBLEMS TO HANDLE THAN THIS. HE ONLY HAS 6 MONTHS LEFT, AND THIS MAN WHO IS TRYING TO IMPEACH BUSH WANTED TO BE PRESIDENT - WHAT A JOKE!!!!
haha that's a funny picture CNN used of Dennis Kucinich. What, couldn't find one that showed him from the neck down?
Oh CNN
Unfortunately, nothing will happen. Congress is all about pork barrel spending for their constituents, and naming building after themselves. Oh, and getting 50% raises for doing nothing.
Bush had the right Congress to do exactly what he wanted to do–stomp all over the Constitution. Wow, what losers.
These are the same losers who allowed someone to put a grotesque building on Pennsylvania Avenue in honor of THE NEWS MEDIA. It's hideous, and self-serving. Especially that huge scroll on the side of the building, yuck. As someone with a design background, trust me less is more. What morons. I know the founding fathers are groaning in their graves.
Barack Obama 08
It's ironic that the republican from Arizona, Trent Franks, would propose that this hearing will impeach the credibility of congress. Everybody knows that the actions of this administration, whether they are impeachable offenses or not, have certinaly destroyed whatever credibility the GOP ever had.
Of course he should be impeached. And Cheney also. Anyone who thinks a Republican congress would have let a Democrat President off on such similarly blatant violations of the Constitution has no clue.
Go get him !
Funny. Man in oval office gets impeached for affair. Now Bush is president, and waged an illegal war, and abuses his power daily, yet does not get impeached along with Cheney.
Why is it taking them so long to get around to this and agreeing to this? The whole lot of them should have been impeached YEARS ago! For someone who was elected, (no matter if the election was stolen, rigged or won fair and square), they take an oath to uphold the Constitution. Bush and company violated the Constitution.
Nixon was removed from office for offenses far lighter than those committed by Bush.
The attempted impeachment of Clinton for a comparative triviality was led by republicans that had affairs during the proceedings.
Bush and his semi-fascist regime has from beginning to end lied to the American people, trampled on the Constitution, suppressed scientific results for political reasons, started an illegal war that has resulted in the killing of more Americans than those killed from terrorism. The democrats' refusal to impeach Bush is unconscionable. The republicans' refusal to impeach Bush is also unconscionable, but, really, par for the course.
Dennis Kucinich and John Conyers are both a pair of clowns.
Please, by all means bring on impeachment hearings.
I beg you... PLEASE!!!
Do it and you'll pretty much guaranty that McCain will be our next President.
Instead we should impeach Kucinich for allowing Islamic extremism to fester and propagate in his district.
More political showmanship for election time by the Democrats. Bush will never be impeached and has done nothing wrong. The Left is getting desperate again. Election time approaches and Obama has nothing to offer. Only old time Big Government Socialism dressed as "hope". Kucinich is a Left wing wacko who has nothing better to do apparently then chase these crazy things. President McCain will be a target for all these crazies the day he takes office too.