The Vices of Cheney: Where Impeachment Must Begin<snip>
For several years, in my discussions with Representatives and Senators, it has not been unusual to hear Vice President Dick Cheney referred to as President George Bush's "insurance policy." That is, against the beginning of impeachment proceedings in the House. The prevailing assumption has been that it would be necessary to impeach and convict Cheney, first, so as not to leave the government in his hands should the president leave office before the end of his term. This assumption was, and is correct -- not just due to the fact that the route to holding the president ultimately accountable for "high crimes" goes through Cheney but also because the vice president's "high crimes" are probably much greater.
If the Democrats had gained control of Congress in 2005, the impeachment of Cheney might have happened. But in the summer of 2007, the Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have an "out" in that the prevailing political judgment among the majority is that the timing is too close to 2008 to begin such a prolonged and disruptive proceeding.
Thus, as a senior Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee recently argued to me, "we are holding what otherwise would be impeachment hearings under the heading of oversight" and publicly "embarrassing" the Bush-Cheney White House. He went on to say that his colleagues (Republicans, as well as Democrats) on that committee -- where the impeachment process must start -- often discuss the abundant circumstantial evidence for high crimes having been committed at the highest levels of the Bush administration.
Of course, it would not be so convenient for Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic majority to finesse the constitutional scandal IF special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald--in the trial of Scooter Libby -- had prominently cited, instead of hinting at, the vice president as an unindicted co-conspirator in obstructing justice OR even in committing the original crime of intentionally revealing the identity of a known CIA covert agent. The ball of string might have unwound beyond control, to the point where Chairman John Conyers of the Judiciary Committee could not have shirked from the duty to launch certified impeachment hearings. The "I" word would at least have been on the table.
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Link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-e-jackson-jr/the-vices-of-cheney-wher_b_53491.htmlWHAT?!?!?
"...a senior Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee recently argued to me, "we are holding
what otherwise would be impeachment hearings under the heading of oversight" and publicly "embarrassing" the Bush-Cheney White House.:wtf::nuke::wtf:
:argh::argh::argh::argh::argh:
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!