Once again I am writing to ask that you introduce impeachment articles against President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
In the past month, we have learned that President Bush illegally ordered the NSA to wiretap American phones without warrants, in violation of the FISA act and the Fourth Amendment.
This is the latest addition to the host of unconstitutional and illegal acts the Bush Administration has already committed, regarding which I have written you on previous occasions. Among these crimes are the illegal detention of Jose Padilla for three years before he was charged with a crime; the diversion of $700 million Congress had allocated for fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan in order to prepare for war with Iraq, long before Bush asked Congress to consider such a plan; and the torture memos, which violate the Eighth Amendment, the Geneva Conventions and the War Crimes Act.
I realize that impeachment efforts in this session of Congress will likely come to nothing. The Republican majority seems to worship President Bush as some kind of messianic figure, and has ignored his administration's crimes. This is in itself a violation of the Constitution, for in Article II, Section 4, the founding fathers wrote: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." It does not read that the House has the option of impeaching the President and Vice President if the members feel like it. It says that the President and Vice President shall be removed if they have committed "high Crimes and Misdemeanors." If torture does not constitute a high crime, what does?
The impeachment and removal of the President and Vice President is the legal obligation of Congress. Each member of Congress swears an oath to uphold the Constitution. It is high time that the members of Congress remembered that.
Even though an effort at impeachment will likely come to naught at the present time, the Democratic members of Congress must make the effort anyway. This would send a message to the American people that the Democrats intend to force the Bush Administration to abide by the law, and that torture and the invasion of privacy have serious consequences. If the Democrats hold Bush accountable, the American people will elect a Democratic majority to Congress this fall. Contrariwise, in the elections of 2002, the Democrats responded to Bush's increasing belligerence towards Iraq with timidity -- and the Republicans reaped the rewards.
To answer my earlier question, what constitutes a high crime, we already have an answer: perjury. When the Whitewater investigators deposed President Clinton under oath and started asking him about Monica Lewinsky, they determined that Clinton might have technically lied when he dodged their questions -- and the House impeached him for it. The American public was disgusted by Clinton's adultery, but was even more disgusted at the Whitewater investigators' exceeding their mandate (i.e. Whitewater) and dragging the President's sex life onto the front page. Although the public was angry at Clinton's deceit, there was never a majority believing that he should be impeached for it.
Contrariwise, recent Zogby polls have shown that a public majority does support the impeachment of President Bush for the above crimes, and for manipulating the intelligence that led to the war in Iraq (as the so-called Downing Street Memos revealed.) To date, many Democrats in Congress have followed the Republicans' lead and looked the other way as the Bush Administration has trampled the Constitution. This must stop, and I thank you for all the efforts you have made thus far in order to stop it.
In order to regain control of Congress, the Democrats must stand up for American values. I remember the "Contract with America" that the Republicans produced in 1994 in order to take control of Congress. Although the Republican Congress worked with the Clinton Administration to balance the budget, the Republicans in Congress clearly went too far when they impeached Clinton. Likewise, the Republicans' blind loyalty to this criminal President has been a disaster for our nation. Sadly, the Republican leaders in Congress will clearly take no action to restrain President Bush -- even though he has refused to end the illegal wiretaps, and (despite the McCain amendment) still reserves the right to torture people.
Therefore, the Democratic Party must re-take control of Congress with their own Contract with America. The points of this platform could include the following:
1) A Democratic-majority Congress will investigate and prosecute anyone who has authorized or committed torture to the fullest extent of the law. (Polls -- and common sense -- tell us that a majority of Americans share this view.)
2) A Democratic-majority Congress will investigate and prosecute anyone who has authorized or committed illegal wiretaps to the fullest extent of the law.
3) A Democratic-majority Congress will adopt Congressman Murtha's plan to end the occupation of Iraq.
4) A Democratic-majority Senate will filibuster any Supreme Court nominee who would overturn Roe versus Wade. (Again, polls show a majority of Americans support this.)
Congressman, I ask you to meet with Congresswoman Pelosi and Senator Reid, and urge them to take stronger measures to force the Bush Administration to comply with the law, up to and including impeachment. For the last six years, the Democrats have been the Bush Administration's all-too-loyal opposition. This has been a disaster for our nation. The Administration has invaded Americans' privacy at home and tortured people abroad, and they have mostly gotten away with it. It is appalling that the Republican leadership has endorsed President Bush's numerous abuses of power, and it is disgraceful that the Democratic minority has not used every facility at their disposal to stop those abuses.
In 1994, the Republicans offered their vision to America and took control of Congress. They then pursued the Clinton impeachment with a monomaniacal fanaticism, clearly misusing that control. In 2006, the Democrats must offer their own vision to America, but instead of relying on ideology to make their case, the Democrats must stand up for the Constitution, for the rule of law, and for common sense. The Democrats must pursue the impeachment of President Bush with the same energy and drive with which the Republicans pursued Clinton. It seemed at the time that the Republicans only impeached Clinton because they could. Contrariwise, the Democrats must impeach Bush, not because they don't like him, but because the law demands it. The Constitution is clear: Bush's abuses of power are high crimes, and any official who commits high crimes must be removed from office.
The American people are aching for leadership who will protect our Constitutional liberties. We know the President has no intention of doing so. Thus, if the Democrats work to hold him accountable, they will take control of Congress in 2006. If the Democrats don't fight the Bush Administration's abuses, the Republican majority will doubtlessly grow more powerful.
Congressman, your own record shows you to be a legislator of courage and common sense. Unfortunately, the Democratic leaders in Congress do not share your courage. Now is not the time to be timid. Our nation is threatened by terrorists abroad and by a criminal chief executive at home. Congressman, I ask you to meet with the Democratic leadership and urge them to take a stronger stand against the President's abuses. Most Americans believe in a woman's right to make her own decisions regarding abortion. Also, a majority wishes the Iraq war to end as quickly as possible. Likewise, a majority of Americans believe that the President must be held accountable for taking us to war unnecessarily. If the Democrats carry out the will of the people and stand up for peace, for privacy, and for accountability, the people will welcome Democratic leadership.
Before the 2002 elections, Karl Rove is reputed to have told Republican candidates to "run on the war." Today, the American public is sick of the ever-rising casualties in Iraq, sick of hearing poll after poll state that the Iraqis overwhelmingly want us to leave, and sick of the Bush Administration's empty claims of success. In 2006, the Democrats must run on peace. The American people will welcome it.
Yours sincerely,
C. Colvin
CC: Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi; Senator Harry Reid; DNC Chairman Howard Dean
Dear Congressman:
Thank you for your prompt reply to my latest letter requesting the immediate commencement of impeachment proceedings against the President, Vice President, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Secretary of Defense.
Although I understand the logic behind your reply -- that the public is not ready for the impeachment of President Bush -- I respectfully disagree with it. The facts of the matter are these: according to polls taken within the last six months, a majority of the public believes that Bush should be impeached if he knowingly lied in order to begin the war in Iraq. Likewise, polls taken within the last month show that a majority of the public wants Bush to be impeached for ordering the NSA to wiretap Americans without a warrant.
In fact, the public is indeed ready to impeach President Bush. It is Congress that is not ready. I ask you to do everything in your power to get Congress ready.
I first wrote to you asking that Bush be impeached on March 18, 2003, immediately after Bush's ultimatum to Iraq that signaled the onset of war. I wrote because it was clear to me Bush was taking us to war on the basis of a lie, namely that Saddam Hussein -- who had not attacked us -- was an ally of Osama Bin Laden, who had. The truth -- as many experts in the Middle East said -- was that Bin Laden had been trying to overthrow Saddam for ten years. Bush lied, knew he was lying, and his administration ignored or silenced experts like Wesley Clark and Brent Scowcroft who were courageous enough to tell the truth.
Since that time, Bob Woodward reported in his book "Plan of Attack" that Bush had illegally diverted funds from fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan to prepare for war with Iraq. Bush endorsed Woodward's account as accurate -- and Congress did nothing.
Likewise, instead of denying that he'd ordered the NSA to wiretap Americans' phones in violation of the FISA act, Bush admitted and defended these illegal actions.
Ever since my first letter of March 2003, I have written to you and other members of Congress asking that Congress uphold the law and hold Bush to the same standards that we have held past Presidents and ordinary Americans: if you break the law, you go to jail. I have written similar letters almost every time we hear of some new law the Bush Administration has broken (torture, for instance) and still Congress has done little.
Congressman, with the greatest respect, I must question your belief that the public is not ready for the impeachment of President Bush. That question is as follows: how many more people must die in Iraq before Congress is ready to remove Bush from office and end this unnecessary war?
Yours sincerely,
C. Colvin