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.

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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

You can’t miss the extraordinary blog of Cynthia Thielen’s son David (davidthi808), who describes himself as “an active Democrat and liberal.” But of course when Mom called on him for help, he did what he could. His blog on DailyKos,

Political Geniuses my ass

written on November 26, describes his experience with the Thielen campaign against Sen. Akaka.

David is apparently a regular on DailyKos, and his blog on the campaign makes very interesting reading!

Bob Schacht

“Watergate,” which ended with the resignation of President Nixon under the threat of impeachment, began with a third-rate burglary. It lead to Nixon’s resignation because his aides tried to cover up his involvement. One special prosecutor, Archie Cox, tried to uncover the coverup, and was fired, thereby precipitating the “Saturday Night Massacre”, which in turn forced Nixon’s administration to hire another special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, whose persistence led to Nixon’s plaintive cry, “I am not a crook!” followed soon after by his resignation.

As if current empire-builders’ (Bush, Cheney, Yoo & co.) mangling of the Constitution wasn’t bad enough, we now find that the White House may be aiding and abetting murder and other felonies (see The Observer’s The House of Death, by David Rose). We already know that the President has approved torture and killing of Iraqis and other Moslems from the Middle East; Now, the question is, have he or his aides have done the same regarding Mexicans south of the border?I think the Democrats should ask Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to see if people operating out of the White House have committed Federal crimes in connection with this case.Fitzgerald’s mandate already allows him to look into such crimes, on his own initiative, if he wanted to. When he was appointed, Fitzgerald was empowered with unilateral authority to “expand” his jurisdiction and “pursue it wherever he wants to pursue it.” This was documented in an interesting article by Marcia Macmullan, dated August 13, 2005, with the title “Synopsis of Article on Why They Can’t Fire Fitzgerald“

This is an important article, BTW, that deserves a permanent place in our library.
But a formal request from the right leader in either House or Senate would be hard to ignore. Fitzgerald’s role is appropriate because the DOJ can’t be expected to investigate itself with an adequate level of impartiality.

Bob Schacht

OK, I’m late but not too late with this:

If you’re interested in a sustainable environment here in Hawaii, the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Task Force is the place for you!

And there’s one more meeting left: Tuesday, December 5th, 5:30 - 7:30 PM at McKinley High School Cafeteria, 1039 S. King Street.

• Admission is free and space is limited.
• Reservations are suggested!
• Please send an email to info@hawaii2050.org or call (808) 585-7931 x101 and indicate the number of seats and which meeting you plan to attend.

For more information, see their website at

www.hawaii2050.org, or call

(808) 585-7931 x104 for details.

Bob Schacht

The second thing you can do to advance the cause of impeachment is to sign the petition at People for the American Way that advocates naming a special prosecutor to “Hold Bush Accountable: Demand a Special Prosecutor to Investigate the White House“

The role of special prosecutors in impeachments in the past 50 years is mixed. Most people remember the terrible example of Kenneth Starr, the guy who took the sow’s ear of the Republican case and tried to turn it into a silk purse, but no one except for Republicans bought it as an impeachable offense.

What has been forgotten was the importance of the Special Prosecutor for Watergate. Accumulating scandals forced Nixon to authorize Attorney General Eliot Richardson to name a Special Prosecutor, and he named Archibald Cox. Remember him? I do. Remember the “Watergate Tapes”?

For details, the Wikipedia reminds us that the tapes were discovered and then subpoenaed by first special prosecutor Archibald Cox, as they might prove whether Nixon or Dean was telling the truth about key meetings. Nixon refused, citing the principle of executive privilege, and ordered Cox, via Attorney General Richardson, to drop his subpoena. But Cox refused.
Cox’s refusal to drop his subpoena led to the “Saturday night massacre” on October 20, 1973, when Nixon compelled the resignations of Richardson and then his deputy William Ruckelshaus in a search for someone in the Justice Department willing to fire Cox. This search ended with Solicitor General Robert Bork, and the new acting department head dismissed the special prosecutor. Public reaction was immediate and intense, with protestors standing along the sidewalks outside the White House holding signs saying “HONK TO IMPEACH,” and hundreds of cars driving by honking their horns. Allegations of wrongdoing famously caused Nixon to state “I am not a crook”. Nixon was forced, however, to allow the appointment of a new special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who continued the investigation.

During his tenure as Special Prosecutor, Jaworski was perhaps most famous for his protracted constitutional battle with the White House concerning his attempts to secure evidence for the trial of former senior administration officials on charges relating to the Watergate cover-up.

The Special Prosecutor knew that President Richard Nixon had discussed the Watergate cover-up with the accused on numerous occasions. And that these conversations had been recorded by the White House taping system. Jaworksi requested tapes of sixty-four Presidential conversations as evidence for the upcoming trial. The President refused to hand them over, citing executive privilege.

After attempts to find a compromise - including supplying edited transcripts of some recordings - had failed, Jaworski subpoenaed them. The White House appealed on two grounds: firstly, that the Special Prosecutor did not have the right to sue the President; and secondly, that the requested materials were privileged presidential conversations. Aware that an important constitutional issue was at stake, and unwilling to wait any longer, Jaworski asked the Supreme Court to take the case directly, bypassing the Court of Appeals.

On July 24th 1974, the Supreme Court ruled that the Special Prosecutor did have the right to sue the President; and that “the generalized assertion of [executive] privilege must yield to the demonstrated, specific need for evidence in a pending criminal trial”. The President was forced to hand over the unedited tapes to Jaworski, including one of a very compromising discussion on 23rd June 1972 (known as “the smoking gun” tape). The President resigned in early August.

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In this whole process, Nixon never actually got impeached. It was the combined work of the Special Prosecutor, and investigations in the Senate led by Sen. Sam Ervin, that eventually forced Nixon’s resignation. As the Wikipedia puts it,

Though then-President Nixon had endured two years of mounting political embarrassments, the court-ordered release of the “smoking gun tape” about the burglaries in August 1974 brought with it the prospect of certain impeachment for Nixon, and he resigned only four days later on August 9.

The Senate hearings provided the publicity that rallied public opinion, plus the publicity attending the “Saturday Night Massacre.” But it was the Special Prosecutors, both of them, who broght the legal pressures on the President that forced his hand.

For these reasons, the petition of the People for the American Way deserves support.

Bob Schacht