Let the Impeachment Movement spread across the the land. May truth prevail. “Impeachment is Indispensable” (Daniel Ellsberg)
Liberal firebrand and Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) yesterday submitted an official resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney, accusing the ultra-powerful veep of “high crimes and misdemeanors” for violating the constitution and undermining national security by lying to the American people about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and an al-Qaeda connection to justify a war.
Kucinich is unlikely to find much support for the measure on Capitol Hill, where the House must pass articles of impeachment by a simple majority before sending them to the Senate, where a two-thirds majority is required. As President of the Senate, Cheney might even preside over his own case. Kucinich’s efforts have already been mocked by the Washington Post, among others, but the articles of impeachment do level some grave charges at Cheney that readers might care to peruse.
Article I
“[Cheney] purposely manipulated the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United States by fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify the use of the United States Armed Forces against the nation of Iraq in a manner damaging to our national security interests.”
“(1) Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Vice President actively and systematically sought to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United States about an alleged threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.”
“(2) Preceding the March 2003 invasion of Iraq the Vice President was fully informed that no legitimate evidence existed of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The Vice President pressured the intelligence community to change their findings to enable the deception of the citizens and Congress of the United States.”
“(3) The Vice President’s actions corrupted or attempted to corrupt the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, an intelligence document issued on October 1, 2002, and carefully considered by Congress prior to the October 10, 2002, vote to authorize the use of force.”
Article II
“[Cheney] purposely manipulated the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United States about an alleged relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda.”
Article III
“[Cheney] has openly threatened aggression against the Republic of Iran absent any real threat to the United States.”
You can read more details and see the evidence Kucinich uses to back up his charges here (.pdf). AlterNet has a CNN clip of Kucinich announcing the impeachment articles here.
Posted by Luke O’Brien 10:20:55 AM
