Attempted impeachment of Dick Cheney

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

"HR 333" redirects here. For the star (HD 6798), see List of stars in Cepheus.

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

"HR 799" redirects here. For the star (13 Persei), see Theta Persei.

In April 2007, Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) filed an impeachment resolution (H.Res. 333) against Vice President Dick Cheney seeking his trial in the Senate on three charges. After months of inaction, Kucinich re-introduced the exact content of H. Res 333 as a new resolution numbered H.Res. 799 in November 2007. Both resolutions were referred to the Judiciary Committee immediately after their introduction and the Committee did not consider either. Both resolutions expired upon the termination of the 110th United States Congress on 3 January 2009.

Overview

The resolution charged that Vice President Cheney:

  1. had 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
  2. had fabricated a threat about an alleged relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda, in order to justify the use of the U.S. Armed Forces against Iraq in a manner damaging to U.S. national security interests
  3. in violation of his constitutional oath and duty, openly threatened aggression against Iran absent any real threat to the United States, and had done so with the proven U.S. capability to carry out such threats, thus undermining U.S. national security. [1][2]

The resolution was authored and submitted by Congressman Dennis Kucinich, a representative of Ohio who was also a presidential candidate in the 2008 election. Congressman Kucinich has made available more than 45 documents supporting the articles of impeachment at his Congressional website, including at least 15 for each article. [3]

Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced the resolution on April 24, 2007. During his press conference announcing the resolution, Kucinich stated that he had not informed his party's leadership of the resolution and had not recently spoken about the resolution with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi or Congressman John Conyers, the Chairman of the committee to which his resolution was referred.[4]

Upon introduction, Resolution 333 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Congressman John Conyers. Kucinich's resolution slowly gathered additional co-sponsors, but the Judiciary Committee never addressed the resolution at a hearing. On 6 November 2007, Kucinich read the text of H Res 333 on the House floor as a new resolution (H Res 799), offering it as a "Question of the Privileges of the House. Democratic leadership, led by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, immediately moved to table the resolution. In what was expected to be an overwhelming vote in favor of tabling,[5] Republicans began voting against doing so, trying to force a debate "potentially embarrassing" to Democrats.[6] The resolution was kept alive after a vote of 251-162 against tabling, with 165 Republicans voting against terminating it.[5][6][7] To avoid a debate, Hoyer then made a motion to refer H Res 799 to the Judiciary Committee for its review, although this referral would not require Committee action on the resolution. This motion was successful and the resolution was referred to the Judiciary Committee after a vote of 218-194.[5][8][9] House speaker Nancy Pelosi has said "impeachment is off the table",[5] and the Democrats have no interest in impeaching Mr. Cheney or President Bush over the Iraq war.[6]

Both resolutions were referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, chaired by Congressman Jerrold Nadler in addition to the Judiciary Committee. Neither committee ever held a hearing to consider either resolution. Both resolutions expired at the end of the 110th Congress on 3 January 2009.

Co-sponsors

In addition to Rep. Kucinich, the prime sponsor of the resolution, there were twenty-six co-sponsors:

Name of Representative State - District Party Date Signed Notes
Tammy Baldwin Wisconsin - 2 Democratic 08/01/2007 member of House Judiciary Committee
Leonard Boswell Iowa - 3 Democratic 02/14/2008
Robert Brady Pennsylvania - 1 Democratic 07/24/2007
Yvette Clarke New York - 11 Democratic 06/06/2007
William Lacy Clay, Jr. Missouri - 1 Democratic 05/01/2007
Steve Cohen Tennessee - 9 Democratic 08/04/2007 member of House Judiciary Committee
member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
Danny K. Davis Illinois - 7 Democratic 11/05/2007
Keith Ellison Minnesota - 5 Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party 06/28/2007 member of House Judiciary Committee
member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
Sam Farr California - 17 Democratic 07/12/2007
Bob Filner California - 51 Democratic 07/12/2007
Raul Grijalva Arizona - 7 Democratic 12/05/2007
Sheila Jackson-Lee Texas - 18 Democratic 08/04/2007 member of House Judiciary Committee
Hank Johnson Georgia - 4 Democratic 06/28/2007 member of House Judiciary Committee
Carolyn Kilpatrick Michigan - 13 Democratic 09/07/2007
Barbara Lee California - 9 Democratic 06/07/2007
Jim McDermott Washington - 7 Democratic 07/10/2007
James Moran Virginia - 8 Democratic 07/10/2007
Gwen Moore Wisconsin - 4 Democratic 12/19/2007
Donald M. Payne New Jersey - 10 Democratic 08/01/2007
Jan Schakowsky Illinois - 9 Democratic 05/01/2007
Pete Stark California - 13 Democratic 03/05/2008
Edolphus Towns New York - 10 Democratic 09/27/2007
Maxine Waters California - 35 Democratic 06/12/2007 member of House Judiciary Committee
Diane Watson California - 33 Democratic 10/16/2007
Robert Wexler Florida - 19 Democratic 06/11/2008 member of House Judiciary Committee
Lynn Woolsey California - 6 Democratic 06/07/2007
Albert Wynn Maryland - 4 Democratic 05/10/2007

See also

References

  1. ↑ Library of Congress, H.RES.333, Summary as of: 04/24/2007--Introduced, THOMAS
  2. ↑ Library of Congress, HRES 333 IH, THOMAS
  3. ↑ "Supporting Documents for H Res 333"
  4. ↑ Michael Roston, Kucinich announces impeachment charges against Vice President Cheney, The Raw Story, 24 April 2007
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "House Avoids Cheney Impeachment Debate", 2007-11-7. Retrieved on 2008-06-26.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Kucinich Offers Bill to Impeach Cheney", The New York Times, November 7, 2007. Retrieved on June 26, 2009.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Attempted_impeachment_of_Dick_Cheney&oldid=619330556"