Republican head of judiciary committee says IMPEACHMENT remedy for Bush

For a Republican leader in Congress to talk about this even in the hypothetical shows some degree of return to sane discourse (though Specter has always been more moderate and even voted against far right Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork).

Democrats are sending only cautious signals on pursuing impeachment because they think it will hurt their chances in the 2006 election, which means the rest of us have to pursue two paths to get Bush and Cheney away from the levers of power:

1) Elect enough Democrats to Congress to get majorities in house and Senate, then bust their balls until they impeach

2) Make Bush such an albatross and embarrassment to the GOP that they see impeaching him as helping their odds or being re-elected rather than harming it. That's a steep hill to climb, but just a handful of Republicans in the House have to feel that way to bring charges.

This article also mentions the non-partisan Congressional Research Service report that found their was no legal basis for Bush to do warrantless searches on American citizens.

Of course they have held two American citizens without warrant for several years even though our courts were perfectly capable of giving the so-called "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh a trial and putting him in prison. The Bushies can't seem to tolerate even show trials for the other two. Either they think their evidence is so flimsy it will be laughed out of court (which is likely since the terrorists are more valuable as shadowy boogey men), or they hold even the pretense of their actions being reviewed in contempt.

On this detention issue, it should be remembered that over a thousand people were detained without warrant, charges, contact with a lawyer, or even contact with their family after 9/11. No terrorist related charges have been brought against any of those people, just immigration violations.

Article on CRS report

(I haven't found the actual report yet. Congressmen and Senators ask for them, but the public can only get them if a member of Congress releases it).


KEY EXCERPTS:

Specter: If Bush Broke The Law With Warrantless Spying, Impeachment Is A Remedy

Today on ABC’s This Week, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) — who plans to hold hearings on Bush’s warrantless domestic spying program — upped the ante. He said that if it is determined that Bush broke the law, both impeachment and criminal prosecution are legitimate remedies:

STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, if the president did break the law or circumvent the law, what’s the remedy?

SPECTER: Well, the remedy could be a variety of things. A president — and I’m not suggesting remotely that there’s any basis, but you’re asking, really, theory, what’s the remedy? Impeachment is a remedy. After impeachment, you could have a criminal prosecution, but the principal remedy, George, under our society is to pay a political price.

The non-partisan Congressional Research Service concluded “that the administration’s justification for the warrantless eavesdropping authorized by President Bush conflicts with existing law and hinges on weak legal arguments.”

FULL TEXT:

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/01/15/specter-impeachment/





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