NightBlogger

Kucinich Impeachment Battle No Longer So Quixotic
Video by the American News Project

Mary Ann Akers
OK, impeachment watchers, tune in to C-SPAN’s House channel at 5 p.m. ET today to watch Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s (D-Ohio) next step in his crusade to impeach President Bush. As Kucinich announced in an e-mail to supporters today, “This afternoon, at approximately 5 p.m. (EDT), the Clerk of the House of Representatives will give the first reading of the Article of Impeachment of President George Bush.” That bill would be the lone article of impeachment — Kucinich chose just one from the 35 articles he introduced last month — charging the president with, as Kucinich puts it, “deceiving Congress with fabricated threats of Iraq WMDs to fraudulently obtain support for an authorization of the use of military force against Iraq.” More

“How many more hearings do we need to have to prove this administration has violated the Constitution, taken the law into its own hands, and condoned torture?” asked Kucinich, D-Ohio, author of some three dozen articles of impeachment. “These articles of impeachment are about accountability,” Kucinich said in an interview. “I think our country is at risk. We’re setting a terrible precedent for future administrations if we choose to turn a blind eye to the crimes committed by this administration. “We need to send a message to the next President that if he conducts himself in a similar capacity it would be met with a response from the Congress that you are going to be held to account. … There is a point at which you reduce Congress to a debating society.” Last month, Kucinich stunned colleagues when he introduced an impeachment resolution on the House floor and then spent nearly five hours reading the 35 articles, alleging that President Bush was guilty of a wide range of crimes. More

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who on Monday presented articles of impeachment against President Bush to Congress, pushed for a vote on his resolution that is expected Wednesday.The thirty-five articles of impeachment that the Democratic lawmaker from Ohio painstakingly read for several hours on the House floor Monday were repeated Tuesday night into the Congressional record by the Clerk of the House.

House leaders oppose Kucinich’s measure, and the chamber’s Democrats are expected to refer the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee. “It is imperative that Members of Congress have a thorough opportunity to read the Articles of Impeachment and study the documentation,” said Kucinich, in the release. “When they do, I am confident that they will agree that it is both appropriate and necessary for the Judiciary Committee to begin hearings on the Resolution.” More