PDHblog
This is a place for members of Progressive Democrats of Hawai‘i to express their thoughts
and exasperations about political happenings. The opinions and views are not necessarily
those of PDH's steering committee or membership as a whole.

Even if Speaker Pelosi says impeachment is “off the table,” the table has been set for it by a lengthy series of books. Here are some of the best of them, thanks to http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/ :
Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush,” by the Center for Constitutional Rights, a short book that lists and explains four (multi-part) articles of impeachment.

“The Impeachment of George W. Bush: A Practical Guide for Concerned Citizens,” by Elizabeth Holtzman (former Congresswoman and member of the Nixon impeachment panel) and Cynthia L. Cooper, an excellent and readable book laying out five major grounds for impeachment of Bush, plus an extra section on Dick Cheney.

The Case for Impeachment,” by Dave Lindorff and Barbara Olshansky, an amazingly popular and extremely readable book that explains the context while also setting forth six articles of impeachment against Bush, plus an extra section on Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, and Alberto Gonzales.
“Impeach the President: The Case Against Bush and Cheney,” edited by Dennis Loo and Peter Phillips, with an introduction by Howard Zinn, a wonderfully well written collection of essays organized around a list of 12 grounds for impeachment of Bush and Cheney.

“George W. Bush versus the U.S. Constitution: The Downing Street Memos and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Cover-ups in the Iraq War and Illegal Domestic Spying,” by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff, a book that not only collects the evidence but also tells us what Congressman John Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, is thinking (the full text, minus a new introduction by Joseph Wilson, is available here.)

…or, maybe, WAS thinking. Recently he has signed onto Speaker Pelosi’s assessment that “impeachment is off the table.” More books:
“Verdict and Findings of Fact,” by the International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration of the United States, a report that looks at five major international crimes and overlaps significantly with most lists of impeachable offenses (the full text is available at the link and can also be purchased for $10);

“The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders’ Cure for Royalism,” by John Nichols, a masterpiece that should be required reading in every high school and college in the United States, a history and portrait of the practice of impeachment.

“United States v. George W. Bush et al.,” by Elizabeth de la Vega, an indictment, a presentation to a grand jury charging Bush and gang with fraud — very well argued and documented, even entertaining.

====================================

Besides these books, the Harper’s Magazine forum on impeachment did not pull any punches: “Is There a Case for Impeachment?” (http://www.harpers.org/IsThereACaseForImpeachment.html)

In addition, Bart Dame has also recommended the Rodino Report (http://www.uhuh.com/Starr/rodino.htm ) for historical perspective.

The amazing thing is how much evidence is already part of the public record. The public is receptive to the idea of the impeachment of Bush and Cheney, as shown by a number of polls compiled at http://www.democrats.com/bush-impeachment-polls. But based on experience over the past 35 years, one or both of two things need to happen, in order to give the evidence the right kind of legal standing:

1. Congressional committees with subpoena powers need to hold public hearings to place the evidence before a wider public, much as the Senate(!) Watergate hearings did in 1973-4. Remember Sen. Sam Ervin?

2. A Special Prosecutor authorized to investigate relevant matters. During Watergate, Archie Cox was the first Special Prosecutor. His quest for evidence in the White House got him fired, but in the process the “Saturday Night Massacre” triggered such outrage from the public that Nixon’s administration had to appoint another Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who proved equally determined to get information that the White House was withholding– namely, the “White House Tapes” which ultimately led to Nixon’s downfall. The key thing here is that we already have a special prosecutor in Patrick Fitzgerald!

The circumstances of Fitzgerald’s appointment are interesting enough in and of themselves, but here’s the key:

A blogger (a lawyer) who calls himself “Citizen Spook” posted a comprehensive analysis of the laws invoked by Acting Attorney General Comey, following John Ashcroft’s recusal of himself in the Valerie Plame Leak Case. Comey appointed Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald to investigate the case. Citizen Spook finds that neither Bush nor Attorney General Gonzales have the authority to remove Fitzgerald from his duties as special prosecutor in “Treasongate” aka “Rovegate”:

“As you will soon see, Fitzgerald’s appointment as Special Counsel, the first of its kind in the history of the United States, was meticulously crafted to withstand the coming onslaught…. Neither Bush nor his Justice Department cronies have the legal authority to remove Fitzgerald as Special Counsel or to prematurely end his grand jury. You can thank James Comey for this….

Fitzgerald was empowered by Comey with unilateral authority to “expand” his jurisdiction and “pursue it wherever he wants to pursue it.”

One major priority should be sending evidence to Fitzgerald, perhaps with instructions from a Congressional Committee, requesting a determination if there are grounds for impeachment.

In other words, there’s plenty of evidence out there. It just needs to be certified by competent authorities as grounds for impeachment.

Bob Schacht