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Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush: A National Teach-In

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Time for change Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-22-06 07:45 PM
Original message
Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush: A National Teach-In
Yesterday evening I attended an excellent “National Impeachment Teach-In”, produced by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), which dealt with the rationale for the impeachment of George Bush, as well as ways in which we can help to make it happen.

It was held at Busboys and Poets Restaurant (which is also a book store) in Washington DC, and there were more than 100 people attending – quite a turnout I think, considering that I didn’t even receive notice of it until the morning of the event, and people had to be turned away because of lack of sufficient room.

This site includes a brief description of the event, a list of sites throughout the United States where future teach-ins on this subject will be held, a trailer of the film that we saw last night that makes the case for impeachment, and the book on which the film was based, “Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush”.

The discussion at the teach-in was hosted and moderated by Andy Shallal, founder of Iraqi Americans for Peaceful Alternatives. Panelists included:
David Swanson, Cofounder of AfterDowningStreet.org;
Jamie Raskin, professor of constitutional law at American University;
Steve Cobble, Cofounder of AfterDowningStreet.org;
Carrie Biggs-Adams, of Code Pink and Communications Workers of America;
Kagro X, on-line impeachment activist; and
Travis Morales, of The World Can't Wait, and a representative of Constitution Summer


Opening remarks

The opening remarks dealt with the overall rationale for impeachment. The bottom line is that George Bush has been so derelict in his duties as President that to fail to impeach him, or even to try to impeach him would set a terrible precedent for our country.

Furthermore, numerous crimes have apparently been committed that are screaming to be investigated. Impeachment hearings would open the door to those investigations, which would almost certainly lead to additional crimes that need to be investigated.

We should not worry about the possibility that the impeachment of Bush would lead to having Dick Cheney as our President. In the first place, an impeachment investigation against Bush would almost certainly lead to the identification of impeachable offenses committed by Cheney, so there is very little chance that if Bush is impeached that Cheney would take his place as President. Secondly, even if he did it is hard to imagine that the situation would be worse than it is now, since Cheney seems to be pulling most of the strings anyhow. And, having him as President would carry with it the political benefit of having a sitting Republican President with the worst approval ratings in the history of polling going into the 2008 elections.


The film – “Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush”

The film lasted 30 minutes and included discussions on four articles of impeachment that have already been drawn up by CCR and are specified in their book (linked above). It was emphasized that there is a sound legal (and moral) basis for many more than the four articles of impeachment that they came up with. However, they chose the four issues which they felt would be the easiest to prosecute because they felt that to include many more could possibly spread them out too thin.


Article 1 – unauthorized spying on American citizens

.... authorizing the National Security Agency and various other agencies within the intelligence community to conduct electronic surveillance outside of the statutes Congress has prescribed as the exclusive means for such surveillance, and to use such information for purposes unknown but unrelated to any lawful function of his office; he has also concealed the existence of this unlawful program of electronic surveillance from Congress, the press, and the public…

Bush’s excuse for this unlawful activity has been that he needs to bypass the request for a warrant in his efforts to spy on American citizens, in order that he can act quickly enough to catch terrorists. However, given that the current law allows the warrant to be requested retroactively, it is very difficult to understand how bypassing the warrant request will allow him to act any quicker – since nothing is quicker than retroactive. Therefore, the only plausible conclusion is that the purpose of much of his spying activities is so unrelated to a legitimate function of government that even the conservative FISA judges wouldn’t approve them.


Article 2 – unlawfully taking our nation to war against Iraq

.... George W. Bush has subverted the Constitution, its guarantee of a republican form of government, and the constitutional separation of powers by undermining the rightful authority of Congress to declare war, oversee foreign affairs, and make appropriations. He did so by justifying the war with false and misleading statements and deceived the people of the United States as well as Congress. He denied the electorate the right to make an informed choice and thereby undermined democracy. George W. Bush also committed fraud against the United States by lying to and intentionally misleading Congress about the reasons for the Iraq war….

There can be no question that the oft-repeated “misinformation” that the Bush administration fed Congress and the U.S. public on its reasons for the Iraq war was purposeful lying. His own intelligence network repeatedly told him the truth about Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, and Bush repeatedly ignored those warnings.


Article 3 – unlawful treatment of prisoners of war, in violation of established law

.... violating the constitutional and international rights of citizens and non-citizens by arbitrarily detaining them indefinitely inside and outside of the United States, without due process, without charges, and with limited – if any – access to counsel or courts….

allowing his administration to condone torture, failing to investigate and prosecute high-level officials responsible for torture, and officially refusing to accept the binding nature of a statutory ban on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment….

George Bush repeatedly tries to justify his treatment of our prisoners of war by telling the U.S. public that they are “killers” and “the worst of the worst”. Yet out of the thousands of prisoners that we hold throughout the world for so-called terrorism related reasons, only 8% are members of al Qaeda, and only 10 (No, not 10%, just 10) have been charged with a crime.


Article 4 – Failure to execute the laws of the United States

.... in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has arrogated excessive power to the executive branch in violation of basic constitutional principles of the separation of powers.

… He has formally declared his intent to violate the laws enacted by Congress by appending a “signing statement” to legislation that asserts his right to carve out exceptions to legislation as he sees fit, thereby arrogating to himself legislative powers reserved solely to Congress.

The bottom line here is that the hallmark of tyranny is a chief executive who has no respect for the rule of law.


After-film discussion on what we can do

Following the film, most of the discussion focused on what we as ordinary people can do to facilitate impeachment. The specifics are not perfectly clear to me, but here are some of the things that were recommended to us:

Let Congress know how you feel
Since impeachment starts in the House of Representatives, let your Congressperson know how you feel about impeachment. If you go to the site noted above you can have a copy of “Articles of Impeachment against George W. Bush” sent to your Congressperson. You buy the book (I believe you pay $9.95, but maybe $4.95) and CCR will pay the postage and ship the book to your Congressperson in your name. The site also contains a sample letter to send to your Congressperson.

Also, let John Conyers know how much you appreciate his proposed legislation requiring investigation of Bush administration crimes. And let Ron Paul know how much you appreciate his being the most outspoken Republican in the House on the transgressions of the Bush administration, but he also needs to sign on to Conyers’ proposed legislation. And let Nancy Pelosi know that you believe that it was an egregious mistake on her part to “take impeachment off the table” even in the event that the Democrats take back the House this year. We don’t need her leadership on this issue, but it is imperative that she not obstruct the process.

Spread the word
Here above noted site also provides a link to a site that describes how you can host a teach-in, along with an opportunity to purchase an “action kit” for that purpose, which includes a DVD of the film. If you want to go that route, the site includes a sample flyer, a sample press release, and talking points.

Also, spread the word in less formal ways, by word of mouth, or wearing/using “Impeach Bush” buttons, t-shirts, yard signs, or bumper stickers. You will be surprised to learn that there are a lot more people out there who favor impeachment than one would think by listening to our corporate media. Talk to your labor unions. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper, especially ones which inform the public about “impeachment events”.

Grass-roots resolutions
Passing impeachment resolutions at the state and local level is one way to set the impeachment process in motion, as specified in the Jefferson manual of the House rules. The above noted site provides a guide to getting the process started. It also contains a sample resolution and a sample petition that can be used to get this process started, as well as a list of towns and cities who have already passed resolutions.

Get impeachment on the ballot
Despite the caution shown by our elected Democratic representatives on this issue, CCR feels quite certain that getting impeachment on the November ballot would boost turnout considerably, thus providing a double benefit.


Some closing comments

There are many more American citizens who are disgusted with the conduct of the Bush administration than we would ever guess from listening to our corporate media. The owners of the book store that hosted this event have been so deluged with impeachment books that they have had to exercise discrimination over which ones they accept.

In the question and answer period at the end of the evening, one of the participants suggested that, given the seriousness of the Bush crimes, any impeachment effort should include punitive measures, for example a clause to ensure that after leaving office Bush will not be entitled to Secret Service protection. In response to that suggestion, the hosts of the teach-in, who were extremely vocal advocates of the need to go through with the impeachment process, explained that retribution should have little or no part in this. The impeachment effort is not about George Bush or Dick Cheney per se. Rather, the most pressing issue is that the American people, through our Congress, make it absolutely clear that this kind of behavior by an American President will never again be tolerated. The continuation of our democracy depends on that.
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bleever Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-22-06 08:05 PM
Response to Original message
1. "...(T)his kind of behavior by an American President will
never again be tolerated."

Godspeed to all protectors of our Constitution
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Time for change Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 02:27 AM
Response to Reply #1
10. Yeah, I think that some of our Founding Fathers would be rolling over in
their graves if they could see what we're tolerating today.
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Ringo84 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-22-06 08:06 PM
Response to Original message
2. Stealing the elections
Edited on Sat Jul-22-06 08:07 PM by Ringo84
I saw a panel on BookTV today about the 2000 and 2004 elections.

I can't remember the name of the guy, but he was saying that there were several million ballots - all from African American, Hispanic, and Native American voters - that were either rejected or not counted. The Republicans did that to "re-elect" jackass into office (as though he was actually elected in the first place).

The guy who was talking (his last name started with an 'A'. Wish I could remember) said that by the official ballot results, Duh-bya won 51% to 49% (or something like that). But actually, he lost by that same margin.

The whole thing had me seeing red. If it's true, I cannot even begin to put words to my fury that Republicans would so corrupt voting - which has always been one of the symbols of our freedom and Democracy - to elect that inept, arrogant, immoral, swaggering jackass of a President. It's not fair, it's anti-American, it's traitorous. And the people responsible (the guy said that if we were really serous about punishing the people responsible for the stolen 2004 election, we'd be impeaching the "President", the VP, and the entire Cabinet) should be strung up by their thumbs. How DARE they f--- up the people's power to control their government?
:rant:

Did anyone else see that segment on BookTV? It was early afternoon - 1 PM or slightly later.
Ringo
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Jazzgirl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-22-06 11:18 PM
Response to Reply #2
9. That would have been Paul Robeson, Jr.
Edited on Sat Jul-22-06 11:20 PM by Jazzgirl
I saw it and recorded it on my DVR. He was eloquent as was Greg Palast and Steve Freeman (?). It was extremely interesting....

JG
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Pierre.Suave Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 01:48 PM
Response to Reply #9
16. if you can
find a way to transfer that to the computer, I would be eternally grateful.
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Time for change Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 07:23 AM
Response to Reply #2
11. Well, there was a great deal of election fraud in both the 2000 and the
2004 Presidential elections. It is certain that Gore won Florida, and therefore the election in 2000. I will give you a link to an article I wrote on that, but I can't find it now because my computer won't let me use the search function because it is saying that I'm not a donor, even though I am. I'll send you the link when I get that corrected.

In 2004, all the exit polls showed clearly that Kerry won. Also, there were all kinds of fraud in Ohio which lost the election for Kerry. Here is a discussion of the many different kinds of fraud that lost Ohio, and therefore the election, for Kerry in 2004:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=710029&mesg_id=710029

And here is a discussion of the exit poll discrepancy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x371726

So yes, election fraud is a terrible problem for us, and we need to do something about it.
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Cha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-22-06 08:07 PM
Response to Original message
3. Good to hear this
is happening and that is quite a turn out!

That's what it's gonna take..real people across our nation coming together and doing it ourselves. Cause the politicians aren't worth their salt.
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Time for change Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 08:57 AM
Response to Reply #3
12. Yes, I believe that it's going to take a great deal of grass roots support
I think that without that our elected representatives will not stick their necks out on this. I think that the fact that they haven't done that yet, despite by far the most thorough case for an impeachment of a President in U.S. history, is very telling.
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understandinglife Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-22-06 08:09 PM
Response to Original message
4. Recommended.


Never Forget: George W. Bush willfully violated National Security to cover-up his willful launch of a war of aggression and illegal occupation of Iraq.
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bdamomma Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-22-06 08:12 PM
Response to Original message
5. they are all criminals
if this kind of leadership was in another country these people would no longer be in power, how much more abuse can we take from this disasterous regime, or how much more will the world take??? we have definitely been tarnished, we do have the power to change it.
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Time for change Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 10:19 AM
Response to Reply #5
13. They have stepped over the line, and we must use our constitutional
powers to take our country back.

"How much more abuse can we take from this disastrous regime?".
I say that we shouldn't take any more.

"How much more will the world take?"
The rest of the world understands much better what is going on than many Americans do - given the fact that we no longer have a free and independent press. It gives me much hope that the rest of the world is aligning against the Bush administration. This group of criminals cannot take on the rest of the world.

I feel certain that they will be brought down. But we the people of the United States need to take steps to make sure that that occurs sooner rather than later -- in order to avoid the coming catastrophes that will otherwise certainly occur.
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Independent_Liberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-22-06 08:51 PM
Response to Original message
6. Kicked and recommended!
Edited on Sat Jul-22-06 09:20 PM by Independent_Liberal
Check out this impeachment compilation of mine.

1__th Congress H. RES 642

___ Session

Impeaching George Walker Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Date ___________________

Mr./Ms. Y submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION

Impeaching George Walker Bush, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors.

Resolved, that George Walker Bush, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and the following articles be exhibited to the Senate:

Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against George Walker Bush, President of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE I

False and misleading statements.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States and as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and in willful disregard to the safety and welfare of the members of the Armed Forces of the United States, made false or misleading statements and directed his subordinates to make false or misleading statements orally and in writing to members of the United States Congress and in public speeches and interviews concerning national security threats posed by the regime in the Republic of Iraq and, on March 19, 2003, directed the armed forces of the United States to overthrow the Iraqi government and occupy the Republic of Iraq, causing the deaths of over 2300 service members as of April 1, 2006.

1. On several occasions, George Walker Bush stated that the United States of America had proof that the Republic of Iraq was in possession of biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction, while no such weapons existed.
2. On several occasions, George Walker Bush stated the United States of America had solid evidence of a working relationship between the government of the Republic of Iraq and terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda, which was responsible for attacks against the United States of America on September 11, 2001, when no such relationship existed.
3. On several occasions, George Walker Bush stated that the United States of America had evidence of attempts by the government of the Republic of Iraq to purchase materials for the construction of nuclear weapons and was actively pursuing a program to construct such weapons when the Republic of Iraq had no such construction program.
4. On several occasions, George Walker Bush encouraged his subordinates to state or caused others to believe or failed to restrain his subordinates from stating or causing others to believe that the Republic of Iraq possessed biological or chemical weapons of mass destruction, was actively pursuing a program for the construction of nuclear weapons or had a working relationship with international terrorists responsible for attacks on the United States of America on September 11, 2001.

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE II

Disregarding treaties and U.S. statutes.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, willfully disregarded treaties and conventions legally entered into by the United States of America and violated U.S. statutes, including:

1. The Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions of 1949, by detaining prisoners of war or other protected persons in a manner contrary to said conventions at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq and other detention facilities under the control of the Armed Forces of the United States of America.
2. The Hague Regulations of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, by directing that the administrator of the Republic of Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, to alter the laws of the Republic of Iraq to allow for foreign ownership of private businesses in Iraq.
3. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1987, by causing detainees held in the custody at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq and other detention facilities under the control of the Armed Forces of the United States of America, to be treated in a manner contrary to said convention, and, in violation of said convention, to transport detainees to foreign states for the purpose of treating those detainees in a manner in violation of said convention.
4. The Charter of the United Nations, by waging in violation of said Charter a war of aggression against the Republic of Iraq without cause, provocation or authorization from the Security Council of the United Nations to enforce certain resolutions of the Security Council.
5. The Nuremberg Charter, Judgment and Principles.
6. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by authorizing, ordering and condoning assassinations, summary executions, kidnappings, secret and other illegal detentions of individuals, torture and physical and psychological coercion of prisoners to obtain false statements concerning acts and intentions of governments and individuals.
7. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
8. The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
9. The Genocide Convention.
10. The Kellogg-Briand Pact.
11. The U.S. Army Field Manual 27-10 (1956).
12. The U.S. War Crimes Act and Title 18 section 2441.
13. U.S. Code Title 18, Section 844 paragraph (e). Bomb Threat -- Whoever, through the use of the mail, telephone, telegraph, or other instrument of interstate or foreign commerce, or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, willfully makes any threat, or maliciously conveys false information knowing the same to be false, concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made, or to be made, to kill, injure, or intimidate any individual or unlawfully to damage or destroy any building, vehicle, or other real or personal property by means of fire or an explosive shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 years or fined under this title, or both.
14. U.S. Code Title 18, Section 35. Imparting or conveying false information (Bomb Hoax).

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE III

Endangering the safety and welfare of the members of the Armed Forces of the United States.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States and as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and in willful disregard to the safety and welfare of the members of the Armed Forces of the United States, knew or had reason to know of a decision by the Secretary of Defense to divert funds appropriated for action in Afghanistan to develop plans for action in Iraq, and failed to prevent this action even though said action was contrary to appropriations as enacted by the Congress.

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE IV

Violating the Fourth Amendment.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and in violation of the Fourth Article of Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, directed the National Security Agency to conduct searches of the private effects of American citizens and listen to private conversations of American citizens through electronic media without the authorization of a legal warrant and violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – U.S. Code Title 50, Section 1805.

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE V

Violating the Sixth Amendment.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and in violation of the Sixth Article of Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, has ordered American citizens to be detained without criminal charge for an excessive period of time.

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE VI

Conspiracy to endanger the security of the United States.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, entered a conspiracy (involving Karl Rove, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Stephen Hadley and others) to unmask the identify of a covert operative of the Central Intelligence Agency and to declassify documents or make unauthorized publication of classified documents for the purpose of personal gain in a manner inconsistent with the security of the United States of America.

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE VII

Obstruction of justice, perjury and contempt of Congress.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, obstructed justice by withholding information and refusing to turn over White House documents, papers, emails, tapes and recordings of conversations to members of Congress, offices of Investigative Panels, Independent Counsels, Federal Investigators, Federal Prosecutors, Special Prosecution Forces and Judges on the Federal Courts. This is related to:

1. The Jack Abramoff lobbying case (which White House Budget Procurement Officer David Safavian was involved in).
2. The CIA Leak case.
3. The American Israeli Public Affairs Committee spy case involving Pentagon official Lawrence Franklin and the espionage case involving former FBI spy and U.S. Marine Leandro Aragoncillo.
4. The Randy “Duke” Cunningham bribery case.
5. The Sibel Edmonds FBI whistle-blower case.
6. Reports from the Department of Justice Inspector General’s office.
7. Domestic eavesdropping by the National Security Agency.
8. White House press corps appearances by reporter Jeff Gannon of Talon News.
9. The White House Iraq Group.
10. The Iran-Syria Operations Group.
11. Richard B. Cheney’s Energy Task Force and secret energy meetings.
12. Niger uranium forgeries.
13. Secret government propaganda operations.
14. Secret prisons run by the CIA where prisoners have been tortured.
15. Deals with Halliburton and Carlyle over Dubai Ports World.
16. Oddities of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
17. The September 11, 2001 World Trade Center EPA case.
18. Surveillance tapes of the Pentagon attack on September 11, 2001.
19. The destruction of September 11, 2001 FAA tapes containing interviews with air traffic controllers.
20. Phone jamming in the state of New Hampshire by White House officials during the 2002 election.
21. Stolen computers from the state of Ohio’s Democratic headquarters during the 2004 election cycle.
22. Documents obtained in an FBI raid from Congressman William Jefferson’s office.

He has committed perjury by lying to Federal Investigators and a grand jury investigating the CIA Leak and obstructed justice by ordering the removal of Federal Prosecutor Frederick A. Black who was investigating the Jack Abramoff Guam case, interfering in investigations by the Department of Justice into Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert’s ties to Turkish money and the American Turkish Council, obstructing Department of Justice and Senate investigations into the Enron fraud case and blocking Department of Justice investigations into the National Security Agency domestic spying program.

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE VIII

Threatening the Security of the United States.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, has threatened the security of the American people, by the following acts:

1. Attempting to make deals to have Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates take control of United States Seaports with full knowledge of their connection to Islamic terrorist groups who were involved in the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.
2. Generating ill will among the peoples of the world with an offensive and aggressive foreign policy.
3. Weakening the effects of International Law by defying the United Nations thus encouraging other nations to violate International law by example.
4. Diverting the National Guard to foreign wars where they are unavailable to serve the needs of American citizens at home who, for example, are suffering from Hurricane Katrina.
5. Appointing unqualified personnel to critical government positions as political favors where their incompetence places American citizens at risk. An example being the appointment of Michael Brown as head of FEMA.
6. Proposing military strategies involving the first use of tactical or low yield nuclear weapons in violation of the Nonproliferation Treaty, which is an inherently destabilizing strategy that encourages participants in a conflict to strike before the other side can do so.
7. Countless acts of negligent homicide, criminal negligence causing bodily harm, and reckless endangerment of the members of our armed forces.
8. Failing to take even minimal steps to prevent the attacks of September 11, 2001 and committed more than 3000 acts of negligent homicide and countless acts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and reckless endangerment.
9. Authorizing leaks of classified information from U.S. intelligence agencies.
10. Refusing to implement measures suggested by the 9/11 Commission that would help prevent future terrorist attacks on the United States.

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE IX

Conspiracy to defraud the government and the people of the United States.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, conspired to defraud the government and the people of the United States by the following acts:

1. Secretly working with his subordinates, former Enron founder Kenneth Lay and former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling in defrauding the people of the state of California in order to obtain money for launching illegal wars in the Middle East.
2. Bribery, fraud, embezzlement and money laundering.
3. Making illegal campaign contributions.
4. Accepting illegal campaign contributions from corporations with ties to corrupt foreign governments.
5. Secretly looting money from the Social Security Trust Fund and the U.S. Health Care System.
6. Tax evasion.
7. Insider trading.
8. War profiteering by funneling Iraq money to corporations including Halliburton-Kellogg Brown & Root, the Carlyle Group, Harken Energy, and Betchel.
9. Funneling illegal campaign money to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s political action committee Americans for a Republican Majority in Texas.

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE X

Abuse of power.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, has subverted the principles of democracy, by the following acts:

1. Making, ordering and condoning false statements and propaganda about the conduct of foreign governments and individuals and acts by U.S. government personnel; manipulating the media and foreign governments with false information; concealing information vital to public discussion and informed judgment concerning acts, intentions and possession, or efforts to obtain weapons of mass destruction in order to falsely create a climate of fear and destroy opposition to U.S. wars of aggression and first strike attacks.
2. Trying to suspend the constitutional Writ of Habeas Corpus.
3. Ramming the totalitarian U.S.A. Patriot Act through Congress.
4. The mass-round-up and incarceration of foreigners.
5. Kangaroo courts.
6. Depriving at least two United States citizens of their constitutional rights by means of military incarceration.
7. Interference with the constitutional right of defendants in criminal cases to lawyers.
8. Violating and subverting the Posse Comitatus Act.
9. Unlawful and unreasonable searches and seizures.
10. Violating the First Amendment’s rights of the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of press, peaceable assembly, and to petition the government for redress of grievances.
11. Packing the federal judiciary with hand-picked judges belonging to the totalitarian Federalist Society and undermining the judicial independence of the Constitution’s Article III federal court system.
12. Reinstitution of the infamous “Cointelpro” Program.
13. Instituting the totalitarian Total Information Awareness Program.
14. Establishing a totalitarian Northern Military Command for the United States of America itself.
15. Violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
16. Ordering and authorizing the Attorney General to override judicial orders of release of detainees under INS jurisdiction, even where the judicial officer after full hearing determines a detainee is wrongfully held by the government.
17. Authorizing secret military tribunals and summary execution of persons who are not citizens who are designated solely at the discretion of the Executive who acts as indicting official, prosecutor and as the only avenue of appellate relief.
18. Providing misinformation to the United Nations Security Council, Congress, and the American people overstating the offensive capabilities of Iraq, including weapons of mass destruction, as justification for military action against Iraq.
19. Repeatedly manipulating the sentiments of the American people by erroneously linking Iraq with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 by al Qaeda.
20. Repeatedly claiming that satellite photos of sites in Iraq depicted factories for weapons of mass destruction in contradiction with the results of ground inspections by United Nations teams.
21. Stating that “Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa” in his State of the Union Address after being told by the CIA that this was untrue and that the supporting documents were forged.
22. Influencing, manipulating and distorting intelligence related to Iraq with the intention of using that intelligence to support his goal of invading Iraq.
23. Retaliating against whistle-blowers who try to point out errors in statements.
24. Misusing the FBI, CIA and Internal Revenue Service for political purposes.
25. Directing millions of dollars in government funds to companies associated with White House officials in no-bid contracts that pose serious conflicts of interest. One example is Halliburton, of which Richard B. Cheney was once CEO.
26. Issuing unlawful signing statements claiming the authority to bypass certain provisions of laws passed by Congress.

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE XI

Criminal negligence.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, engaged in criminal neglect in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, depriving thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and other Gulf States of urgently needed support, causing mass suffering and unnecessary loss of life.

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE XII

Voting fraud and election law violations.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, conspired with his campaign workers to use electronic voting machine companies (including Diebold which was chaired by Walden O’Dell) and voter disenfranchisement to obtain fraudulent victories in the states of Florida and Ohio in the 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections and in doing this, violated the following sections of U.S. Code Title 18:

1. Section 241, which make it unlawful for two or more persons to conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any citizen in the exercise of a right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States (including the right to vote in an election for President).
2. Section 594, prohibits the intimidation or coercion (e.g., 10-hour poll-tax lines) of voters for the purpose of interfering with the right to vote for a candidate for federal office. (This statute does not require violent intimidation.)

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE XIII

Illegal propaganda.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, participated in propaganda campaigns run by a Pentagon psyops unit which provided journalists with false information on supposed threats posed by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.


ARTICLE XIV

Military action without approval from Congress.

In his conduct of the office of the President of the United States, George Walker Bush, and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, secretly and illegally ordered the Armed Forces of the United States to conduct the following without approval from Congress:

1. Air strikes on the borders of Syria and Pakistan.
2. Military operations in Iran.

In all of this, George Walker Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, by such conduct, George Walker Bush warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.
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Time for change Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-22-06 10:16 PM
Response to Reply #6
7. Wow
:wow:

This is very comprehensive!

Did you post this in the Research forum, and when did you post it?
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Independent_Liberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 09:52 PM
Response to Reply #7
26. Thanks TFC!
I haven't posted this in the Research Forum, but I have posted it in other threads on this board.
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Pierre.Suave Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 01:55 PM
Response to Reply #6
17. Very nice
Edited on Sun Jul-23-06 01:55 PM by jasonc
I appreciate your efforts very much, but do you want to know where the typos are?

Sorry, I an an anal english major.
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Independent_Liberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 09:50 PM
Response to Reply #17
25. No problem.
Edited on Sun Jul-23-06 09:50 PM by Independent_Liberal
Please point out the typos for me.
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katinmn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-22-06 10:59 PM
Response to Original message
8. Great report! I missed the one in Minneapolis but will hope
to attend one in the future.
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Time for change Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 11:34 AM
Response to Reply #8
14. Thank you - They did a great job of putting this thing together
Their book is excellent too.
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grannylib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 01:15 PM
Response to Original message
15. Thanks for posting...SPREAD THE WORD, SPREAD THE WORD
Sending this to everyone I know with the plea to contact Congress/Senate and GIT 'ER DONE.


Personally, I think impeachment would be letting him off lightly. He ought to be tried for treason.
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Time for change Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 03:59 PM
Response to Reply #15
18. Thanks - I agree that impeachment would be letting him off lightly - but
for the good of our country, I would absolutely settle for impeachment.

Of course, after he's impeached that doesn't rule out criminal or civil charges being filed against him.
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grannylib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 04:29 PM
Response to Reply #18
19. Wonder what it would take for someone to do just that...file criminal or
civil charges against him/them.

I'm no legal eagle, but man, if I could do it just as a citizen, I surely would...
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Time for change Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 05:30 PM
Response to Reply #19
20. If Bush gets impeached we will be relatively powerless
There must be millions of people in this country whose built up rage against him will be boiling over, and they will be looking for ways to satisfy that rage. In some ways it would be like the continuation of the search for Nazi war criminals after the Nuremburg trials were over. So I believe that, unless he is pardoned by the President, there will many efforts of this kind.

It's pleasing to think about, but should not be our focus. We just need to think about impeaching him for his repeated and egregious neglection of duty.

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Time for change Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 06:26 PM
Response to Original message
21. A great paragraph from the introduction of the book
On the main rationale for impeachment:

As a consequence this nation is confronted with a grave constitutional crisis. We have a president staunchly committed to acquiring unpredecented amounts of power and using it in ways that conflict with the Constitution of the United States, international law, and the common understanding of morality. In short, although the president has sworn to uphold the Constitution, he is doing just the opposite. He is dismantling the Constitution of the United States. Primarily, his apparent purpose is to gather even more power - power unchecked by judicial or congressional scrutiny - to a presidency alrady bloated with power.

Simmultaneously, summary arrests, in the United States and around the world, torture, indefinite detention, illegal surveillance, and suppression of free speech and protest have become commonplace. Yet worse, as all of this has happened the government has sought to eliminate an judicial oversight of its activities...
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chat_noir Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 06:40 PM
Response to Original message
22. Time, thanks for your post
Would you mind posting this in the DU Research Forum Impeachment thread?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_oet&address=358x260
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Time for change Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 07:10 PM
Response to Reply #22
23. Sure - I'm not sure how to do it though
I would have to use the edit function, right?

But then it seems that I wouldn't post this as a full post, but rather I would cut and paste the sections of my post into the relevent sections. And it looks like there would be a degree of overlap between the CCR articles and the articles of impeachment that are currently posted on the impeachment research thread, and I'm not sure how I would handle that.

Can you advise me on this?
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chat_noir Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-23-06 09:22 PM
Response to Reply #23
24. I'd give it it's own text block, rather than trying to incorporate

Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush: A National Teach-In










Just look at the previous edits to see how to ge a text box >>> div class=talk in brackets



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Time for change Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jul-24-06 10:26 AM
Response to Reply #24
27. Thank you chat noir
I will do that when I get home tonight.
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trof Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jul-24-06 10:32 AM
Response to Original message
28. ABA Task Force on Signing Statements says violation of Bush's oath.
Sounds like impeachable offense to me.
Big press conference just ended on C-Span.
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