Conservative Magazine Says Bush "Bracing" For Impeachment Hearings

[JABBS]

"The Bush administration is bracing for impeachment hearings in Congress," reports Insight, a sister publication of the conservative Washington Times. "A coalition in Congress is being formed to support impeachment," an administration source told the magazine.

Why? Because of growing concern that the administration circumvented the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which says that the National Security Agency must obtain a warrant before conducting surveillance.

As reported by JABBS, the list of Republicans who are questioning warrantless surveillance is growing. If enough Republicans side with the Democrats, impeachment becomes a reality.

Administration sources told Insight that the charges are expected to include false reports to Congress as well as President Bush's authorization of the National Security Agency to engage in electronic surveillance inside the United States without a court warrant. This included the monitoring of overseas telephone calls and e-mail traffic to and from people living in the United States without requisite permission from a secret court.

"Our arithmetic shows that a majority of the committee could vote against the president," a source told the magazine. "If we work hard, there could be a tie."

"Impeachment proponents in Congress have been bolstered by a memorandum by the Congressional Research Service on Jan. 6," the article says. "CRS, which is the research arm of Congress, asserted in a report by national security specialist Alfred Cumming that the amended 1947 law requires the president to keep all members of the House and Senate intelligence committees "fully and currently informed" of a domestic surveillance effort. It was the second CRS report in less than a month that questioned the administration's domestic surveillance program."

***

This item first appeared at JABBS.

[wakeme2008]

1. spare me not BUSH but "Bush administration" is bracing

IMHO Bubble Boy has not even hear of it. :grr:

[JABBS]

3. couldn't fit "administration" in headline

sorry

[tenshi816]

18. Bubble Boy probably has no idea

he isn't loved by one and all, what with only ever coming into contact with hand-picked audiences of faithful acolytes and that whole not paying attention to the polls thing. If things ever advance as far as impeachment (which I doubt), I could see him ignoring it and simply carrying on as usual. He's managed to get away with everything else he's done in his life without considering the wishes of anyone else and I can't see that changing. I'm sure he wouldn't let impeachment trouble his "beautiful mind".

[HereSince1628]

2. I was honestly surprised when Sensennbrenner sent his 51 questions

over to the White House. Jimmy is a pretty damned partisan Republican.

[babylonsister]

4. The "I" word, gotta love it from whatever source! And I hope

they're shaking in the muddy, blood-drenched booties.

[amber dog democrat]

5. "Its the end of the beginnning "

As Churchill once said. If the GOP loses control of the House, all kinds of things will start to occur. I so look forward to seeing this happen.

[JABBS]

7. 15 House seats

to take control.

It didn't look possible a year ago, but it's got to be possible now.

The DNC should run ads with Bush and Abramoff, and with Duke Cunningham upset as he resigns, and Ney and DeLay, and how the GOP has betrayed our values.

A second ad should highlights corporate welfare -- especially to the energy sector -- and cross that with images of high gas prices, Katrina victims, and Brownie.

A third should show Bush talking about all the WMD, and then show the 9/11 report, and show Wolfowitz saying that oil would pay for the war, and then highlight the $200B-plus pricetag.

[amber dog democrat]

8. Outside of being corrupt, warmongering crooks

they are incompetant. The Bush Admin could screw up a bake sale.
We need to start hammering at them and not let up.

[kster]

6. K&R.nt

[Jacobin]

9. Dont they mean 'shredding' not 'bracing'?

[neoblues]

10. We can hope...

If the world was a just place it would happen and it would succeed!

But let's go farther--much farther! Impeachment would then properly be followed by criminal prosecution and a change in the law to allow Presidents/Vice-Presidents AND Cabinet members AND Staff to be subject to civil suits for wrongdoing, harm etc... Truth be told, the laws would temporarily be amended to allow such suits to lay claim on family assets (particularly where it can be shown that those assets empowered the defendants to take the office they abused) so that punitive damages would be awarded to all veterans, their families and reparations be paid to victims of foreign offenses as well--and so would end the "Bush Dynasty" (and the Cheney one, and the Condolezza one, and the Rummy one and so on down the line). Remove the from office in disgrace, toss them in prison for their crimes against The Nation, The People and Humanity, and take away their fortunes!

Indeed, we should see if we can get the law changed so that all citizens of the United States (and perhaps even foreign citizens) can SUE our President/Vice-President/Cabinet/Staff AND also all members of Congress (perhaps even the Justices of the Supreme Court) for the grievance of mis-representation or abuse of office or powers. Thus Congressmen who passed egregious tax cuts that placed our nation in debt can be sued by the people, on behalf of the people and even future generations (who will have to pay OUR DEBTS). Every time Congress fails to do the will of the people, the people can take a vote--if the Congress doesn't amend it's ways to honestly represent and do the will of the people, they should be held accountable. Impeachment would be the logical first step--requiring yet another amendment to the Constitution, but... to make these people pay--financially--for their misdeeds, lies and corruption as well as for the harm they cause their constituents... that would be justice.

Presidential Administrations and Congress (and maybe the Courts): do your duty or face the consequences as mandated by the citizens you govern!

[Raster]

11. This is the issue that should be the litmus test for everyone in

Congress in 2006: is your loyalty to the party or the Republic. I just have to believe that there are some republicans of character in Congress. Not to say the dems are above reproach, they are not.

[renate]

16. Democratic candidates should sing that from the rooftops

"Is your loyalty to the party or to the country?"
(Sorry... "Republic" struck me as a little too old-timey for a modern election. JMHO.)

I love love love your suggestion and I hope advisors to the Democratic candidates think the way you do. Our side always gets all bogged down in facts and logic and truth when what the general population wants is a patriotic-sounding sound bite. (In this case, it wouldn't be an empty patriotic-sounding sound bite, so we'd still be one up on the Republicans.)

[Raster]

17. Country or Republic, doesn't matter to me. What does matter is that

we force each and every person up for reelection or initial election to publicly state for the record where their allegiances lie. We must be fully prepared to deal with any DINOs or turncoats.

[I Have A Dream]

12. Even if we get control in 2006, I don't think that the Dems...

will do anything. I think that they'll say that they need to be focusing on 2008. (They'll be afraid that they'll be burned and it will affect their chances of winning the Presidency in 2008.) I just don't have any confidence that they'll quit quaking in their boots enough to take this action. :(

[Raffi Ella]

14. ...

If either party wants any credibility they HAVE to impeach the pRez in my opinion.I mean his approval ratings have been at 39% for a long time...There is scandal after scandal and pretty soon the country is going to start thinking the entire Government is in cohoots with the pRez if they don't DO something about him.
I think a lot of people DO think the entire Government is corrupt anyway.But if they actually did something to stop this bastard from ruining our nation and making a mockery out of our Costitution that would go along way to restore some credibility to the Party-EITHER party!

[I Have A Dream]

15. I agree with you, DemEtienne. I hope that I'm wrong. n/t

[0007]

21. 'Tis like watching Barney Fife put that one bullet in his gun, eh?

I'm gonna get the whole GOP party with one shot.

[librechik]

13. if the Whoredom starts to think Bush is an election liability

he will be under the bus as far as Tenet is.

[salin]

20. When the messenger is 'Insight' (off shoot of Moonie Times), I tend

to think the motive is 'scare and rejuvinate the base to circle the wagons against "threat", more than a sign of jumping ship.

[yellowdogmi]

19. All I can say is

About freaking time. Bring it on.
:popcorn:

[Disturbed]

22. Cheney will be Impeached first.

When the current shit about Darth's hinting accident dies down his actions regarding V. Plame will become front and center. Impeachment is required for Darth.