Impeachable Crimes

[katukov]

My letter to Speaker Pelosi:

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
[phone]

Re: Impeachable Crimes
Dear Madam Speaker:
Recently, you appeared on ABC’s The View and suggested impeachment is off the table because you have no evidence that President Bush has committed any criminal acts. The following is a summary from a transcript:

REP. NANCY PELOSI: … “I thought that impeachment would be divisive for the country…(followed by a discussion of legislative achievements and goals, and by): “If somebody had a crime that the President had committed, that would be a different story.” (emphasis added)
REP. NANCY PELOSI: (further discussion of legislative achievements and goals, followed by): “And you can’t do that if you’re trying to impeach the President at the same time, unless you have the goods that this President committed crimes.”
(Transcript from Democracy Now, July 30, 2008)
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/30/house_speaker_nancy_pelosi_defends_her

Madam Speaker, I submit to you that the Bush Administration, in particular George W. Bush and Richard Cheney, have committed high crimes. These have their legal basis as crimes in the U.S. Constitution; in treaties ratified by the U.S. and regarded as the supreme law of the land; in common law; and in accepted precedent.

These three that I list are by no means their only high crimes and misdemeanors, but I believe these should suffice to begin an impeachment proceeding.

If impeached by the House, and convicted by the Senate, Bush and Cheney will be removed from office. Their guilt and punishment under criminal law must be the subject of a subsequent criminal trial, which is not the responsibility of the Congress. The crimes that are the subject of the impeachment need not be of the severity that would normally result in incarceration or execution in a criminal proceeding, but should be crimes that make the subject unfit to hold office.

With Bush and Cheney, I submit that their crimes, committed in the open, in full view of the world and all of Congress, on television and in the news media, make them unfit to hold office. The body of evidence is vast, and will not be detailed here. That can be done in the impeachment hearings. A very cursory review of the cases will lead any rational person to conclude that there is cause to begin the impeachment process, so that the multitude of facts can be fully heard.

These crimes deserve at the very least the hearing and trial process that an impeachment provides.

[LaStrega]

1. Well written.

Probably fall on deaf ears. AAAAAAAAAAARRRGGH!

Welcome to DU :hi:

[katukov]

2. Thanks! I mailed it off anyway n/t

[Webster Green]

3. Pelosi is a fucking war-criminal herself..

I'm sure she'll get a kick out of your letter though.

Fucking useless bitch!

[Golden Raisin]

4. I know you were following proper form

and etiquette but Pelosi is certainly not "honorable" in my book. I truly hope History will hold her responsible for her inaction during this period of our country's history in which our Constitution and very fabric were savaged by a thuggish regime, openly scoffing at the Law and bent solely on consolidating power in the Executive branch. Pelosi's tenure as Speaker has been an utter disgrace. If I believed in ghosts I would hope she would be haunted by those of the Founding Fathers! Bravo for your letter!

[katukov]

5. Pelosi is an accomplice...

...if she does nothing.

Still, I thought if it's polite maybe somebody on her staff will read it.

[LaStrega]

6. It was polite ...

Waaaay more polite than I think I could have been, had I penned a letter (erm. yet another) concerning impeaching the criminal regime currently in office ... yet at the same time you were entirely to the point.

Wow.

What if yours is *the letter* that brings the current accomplice to her senses?

If only. Would that it could be.