Rep. Conyers on Bush Stonewalling on The Downing Street Memo

[BigBearJohn]

BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

News from the offices of Congressman John Conyers, Jr.:

Representative John Conyers, Jr., (D-MI) House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member, issued the following statement in response to the joint Bush- Blair press conference and President Bush's and evasive answers to inquiries about the Downing Street Minutes:

"We have moved from silence to stonewalling on the issue of the Downing Street Minutes. The President's contention that he had not made up his mind to go to war on or before the summer of 2002 is now contradicted by the Downing Street Minutes, former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, former National Security Adviser Richard Clarke, former Ambassador Joe Wilson and a number of former Blair Administration official.

When asked about the minutes, Bush delivered a canned response that the memo was written before the US and Britain went to the United Nations, but the memo itself appears to indicate that effort was just for show.

The President didn't even respond to the central question of the memo, and the question asked, whether this Administration cooked the books to make the case for war, an allegation that has been substantiated by former officials and investigative reporting . High Ranking officials in both the Bush and Blair Administrations have said that military action was predetermined. Are all of these government officials and reports deceiving us or is the President?"

SOURCE: http://www.buzzflash.com/alerts/05/06/ale05084.html

[fooj]

1. NGU.

:patriot:

[Tamarin]

2. Stonewall Bush is deceiving us. eom

[knowbody0]

4. he is trying

but cannot deceive us

[Tamarin]

10. Yes, he's trying, good point,

but we won't let him and we will just keep shouting *HE LIES* every time he opens his mouth.

[Karenina]

15. Yup!

[geckosfeet]

3. The President's contention that he had not made up his mind

to go to war on or before the summer of 2002 is contradicted by events on the ground and in the skies over Iraq during the summer of 2002.

[damntexdem]

8. Hey, just what are you going to believe, anyway?

The president's lofty mind, or the mere facts on the ground?

[bejammin075]

33. Don't let those facts deceive you!

Listen to my lies! Ignore the facts!

[EVDebs]

18. Ignorance is no excuse. Unless Bush acted as 'agent of foreign power'

Chalabi 'boasted of Iranian spy link'
Iraqi accused by CIA made claim in 1997, says former inspector
May 26, 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,12858,1224917,00...

In that case, deliberately pursuing the intelligence fabrications of Chalabi and Curveball, leads us to the only logical conclusion: Bush is an agent of Iranian intelligence.

Bush's choices were to follow legitimate intelligence or fabricated intelligence. He chose the fabricated kind, not in the best interests of the United States.

[greenman3610]

36. I once asked Juan Cole if he thought

the "war as Iranian sting" was plausible, and he thought not.
I am still not too sure.
There are high ranking people who have said that it
may have been the greatest intel plot of all time,
to destroy their Sunni enemy, create a new
Shiite state next door, and tie the US down
in a quagmire.
Even if they didnt plan it, the Iranians
have got to like the results....

[indepat]

5. A mountain of evidence corroborated by numerous sources mean nothing

when most of the country, including the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the MSM, are of the mindset that a Republican president must be allowed to do absolutely any/everything he wants with absolutely no accountability to anyone: that's what is going on here/happening in case no one else noticed.

[Pacifist Patriot]

38. This is what I find alarming about some of the Bush supporters

I know. Mostly my husband's co-workers. They have acknowledged that the original justifications for war are probably trumped up, but they don't freaking' care! They still believe Bush had the right to do whatever he wanted to if he felt he was doing the right thing at the time. AAAGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

[damntexdem]

6. Oh, Dubya isn't deceiving us --

he's trying to, but he isn't succeeding.

[Vincardog]

26. Why does DuhByah Hate our freedoms?

[AuntiBush]

31. It's a Family thing: You know, FDR and all.

Imagine how Poppa-BFEE raised JR to not only take everything from us that FDR gave to us, but destroy us, as well.

He's not just a liar. He's got to be cookoo, too.

[TexasLawyer]

7. John Conyers

GOD, I love that man!

Have you made your political contribution yet to this great friend of democracy?

Have you signed Conyers' DSM petition yet?

If not, go to his website and get to it!

[SaveAmerica]

16. I second that, what would we do without 'Tenacious C'?

John Conyers keeps me a believer. Time for another I Believe post. I believe that with Tenacious C never giving up, proceedings for Bush's impeachment will begin before '08.

[goclark]

30. Conyers is our hero!

www.johnconyers.com is our ticket to freedom from the likes of George Bush!

Keep up the pressure IMPEACH!

[Occulus]

9. "Bush delivered a canned response"

Repeat that, over and over.

"Bush delivered a canned response..."

[lonestarnot]

22. bushitler IS a canned response! A shit can!

[Supersedeas]

11. a very simple questions US Media: WHO IS LYING???

[Dr Fate]

13. Or Dean, Kerry, Reid, Hillary etc could go on TV and say that.

Why wont they?

[Iowa]

17. Yes - why the silence?

[Dr Fate]

12. Top Democrats apparently think the memo is just fine- nothing to see here.

Or at least I have yet to see any of them on TV raising the issue.

At least Bush is not afraid to actually talk about it on camera!!

[lonestarnot]

23. WTF ... afraid to talk about it... this freak is trying to sweep it

under the rug as he reacts to any negative truth about his selfindulgent wannabe dictatorship.

[Dr Fate]

29. He said more about it on TV than any top Democrats have...

...and thus has a one up on defining this issue as "nothing to see here." then again, that is what DEMs always let Repubs do.

In fact, the top Democrats, for the most part, have ignored the memo just as much as Bush or the media.

[ginnyinWI]

24. patience.

Just because they haven't done things according to a schedule that other people have set, doesn't mean they won't say anything, and it doesn't mean that they are just sitting around doing nothing about it.

Politics isn't always so simple, easy and straightforward. It's not a boxing match, it's chess.

Bush is doing his usual. Blair and Rove decided what they needed said to try to make this thing blow over. They know that a good percentage of Americans think the chimp tells the truth. He's not being brave; I'd bet that they don't even tell him how low his approval rating is.

[Dr Fate]

27. Yes. Let's patiently give Rove time to formulate a counter hoax.

Just like when we were "patient" about the forged yellow cake docs, AWOL or Jeff Gannon.

[jimshoes]

14. They said they would create

their own realities and leave us common citizens to try and figure out what they are doing. They are doing it. They are beyond arrogant. They think they are Gods. It is now time to bring them back to the real world, no?

[grahamhgreen]

19. I need a link to this other than Buzzflash...

Can anyone provide? (The links on the Buzzflash page do not lead to the original Conyers quote) Much Thanks.

[Eloriel]

20. And there were people who were -- and may still -- be trrying to

caution against working for impeachment.

Impeachment is something I believe CAN happen, but it will take some dedicated work by a lot of people and perhaps a little luck. I think the Fates are on our side on this, though, IF we'll be get things rolling.

[mctrotter5]

21. * response is so on point. Just keep saying the same bull

over and over with MSM repeating it until it becomes the "truth" or dies. How many times have we seen this happen..well this time it is going to be the "Minutes that would not die" horrow movie for ol Bushie and Company.

[Helga Scow Stern]

25. If they could ask Clinton the details of his penis's activities,

we should be able to ask Bush every single detail of this infinitely more important decision.

[tallahasseedem]

28. Visualize "President Conyers"!

I like this guys style. He has a spine.

[Griffy]

34. I do.. 06 and 07.. then we have some real primaries and get a dem in 08!

the investigation into his lies will help us take back the house... then we impeach and make Conyers the Speaker! (though I think Pelosi is in line, anyone know?)

[Boxerfan]

32. Buttboy mentioned in 99 he wanted to attack Iraq & finish his daddy's job

http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=/headlines04/1028-01.htm

[newyawker99]

37. Hi Boxerfan!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[dweller]

35. Buzzflash WINGS OF JUSTICE AWARD today goes to

June 8, 2005

Rep. John D. Conyers, Jr.


Congressman John Conyers, Jr., in his 41st year in Congress, has stepped up his efforts to fight the radical right wing agenda. After the 2000
election, he led efforts to uncover election irregularities throughout the country and introduced reforms to remedy those problems, which were
watered-down in the Help America Vote Act.

He led the fight against the U.S.A. Patriot Act, and was the lawmaker responsible for inserting a sunset into the bill. He was also able to pass a
provision requiring the Inspector General of the Department of Justice to look into abuses of civil rights and civil liberties. That new power has
led to a series of reports by the I.G. exposing, among other things, the abuse of detainees. Conyers is currently investigating other abuses of
the Patriot Act.

Following the suppression of minority votes and machine irregularities in the 2004 Ohio election, Conyers formed an ad hoc committee of
lawmakers to investigate what happened in Ohio. This resulted in a 102-page report, issued by his staff, and Conyers leading the first
challenge to a state’s slate of electors in over 100 years.

If Democrats retake the House of Representatives, Congressman Conyers will be the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and has
promised that he will restore checks and balances to the federal government, and hold the Bush administration accountable for its wrongdoing.

http://www.wingsofjustice.com/2005/06/woj060805.html

:thumbsup:
congrats Congressman Conyers!

dp

[paineinthearse]

39. Most excellent, and the petition is well over 250,000, at least 150,000

just today due to Moveon coming onboard!

[paineinthearse]

40. PDA's efforts

received by email

PDA Works with Conyers and Others to Push for Hearings and Hold Rally in DC

The pressure is on, and we need your support. You can help PDA and its allies continue to put heat on the Bush Administration based on the Downing Street Minutes and this immoral and illegal war.

The scandal surrounding the release of the Downing Street Minutes is reaching a crescendo, a tipping point, and Progressive Democrats of America needs your help right now to place this all-important issue at the forefront of discussion regarding the occupation of Iraq. PDA is working with our allies to organize a hearing and rally in Washington, DC on June 16th to focus attention on the Minutes, and we need your contributions to make it happen.

With grassroots support, PDA was a co-founder of a coalition of more than 50 groups to create www.AfterDowningStreet.org, a site dedicated to demand that Congress pass a formal Resolution of Inquiry and investigate the manner in which we were brought to war in Iraq. And today groups like MoveOn are joining this effort. As part of this effort, Rep. John Conyers has collected nearly 200,000 signatures on his letter demanding that Bush be accountable for the damning information contained in the Minutes. The combined efforts of activists all across the country, along with the work of Rep. Conyers and his House allies, is moving the pile.

You can help us push this issue over the top, and we need your help now. PDA is working with our allies to organize a hearing in Washington DC, as well as a rally in Lafayette Park, on June 16th, regarding the Minutes. We need your donations to help fund the rally, to mobilize our activists effectively, to help continue the collection of signatures for Rep. Conyers' letter, and to keep the heat on both the Bush administration and the news media.

The Minutes, as many of you already know, is an internal secret document from July of 2002 leaked by a British official at the beginning of May. The Minutes clearly state that the premise for invasion was illegal, but that Bush had already decided to make war and so "intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." This document exposes the reality behind this invasion, the deliberate lies and misdirection undertaken by the Bush administration to make the invasion happen, and has after the inexplicable passage of weeks without mention in the press, begun to burn hot and bright across the news and political spectrums.

The time is now, and we need your help. Please donate to the activism on this issue here. Go to PDA’s site at www.pdamerica.org, or visit AfterDowningStreet.org for the most recent information on our activities on this issue. Also, read PDA Political Advisor Steve Cobble's report on the Minutes in The Nation here.

This is the moment. Please join us and help make the Downing Street Minutes the 'Pentagon Papers' of our time. It can happen, and it will happen, with your help.




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