Congressional Black Caucus Demands: Discipline Bush and Cheney

From the Afro on April 15, 2006 [HERE]
By James Wright

Eleven Congressional Black Caucus members joined Rep. John Conyers, senior CBC member and the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, asking if President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should be disciplined by Congress. The CBC members have joined a chorus of Americans who believe the country was led into the war in Iraq on the deception that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Conyers (D-Mich.) said there are grounds for this type of action against the nation's top political leaders. "In brief, we have found that there is substantial evidence the president, vice president and other high ranking members of the Bush administration misled Congress and the American people regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq," said Conyers. "There is at least a prima facie case that these actions that federal laws have been violated-from false statements to Congress to retaliating against administration critics."

Conyers introduced a resolution (H. Res. 635) creating a Select Committee with subpoena authority to investigate the Bush administration in regards to the Iraq war and what, if any, impeachable offenses took place. He has also introduced two resolutions (H. Res. 636- Bush) and (H. Res. 637-Cheney) proposing that they be censured by Congress based on "indisputable evidence of unaccounted for misstatements and abuse of power in the public record."

Conyers' motions against Bush were based on the report, "The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retributions and Cover-Ups in the Iraq War" released December 2005. The document asserts that administration has not had any oversight from the Congress in terms of how the war is being conducted and who is benefiting from the conflict.

Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wisc.) introduced a resolution in his chamber to censure Bush for his authorization of a domestic spying program that lacked a compelling reason to take such action.

CBC members who have signed on to Conyers' resolution are Reps. William C. Lacy (D-Mo.), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), John Lewis (D-Ga.), Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.), Donald Payne (D-N.J.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.), Major Owens (D-N.Y.) and Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.).
There is a growing movement to impeach Bush and Cheney, with 17 cities and towns and five Democratic state committees passing impeachment resolutions. The cities and towns are Brattleboro, Brookfield, Dummerston, Marlboro, Putney and Rockingham of Vermont; Arcata, Nevada City, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Sebastopol of California; Chapel Hill-Orange County, N.C.; Nederland, Colo.; Wales, Mass.; Hanover, N.H.; Plattsburg, N.Y.; and Lake Station, Ind.

The five Democratic state committees that passed impeachments resolutions were California, Nevada, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Vermont. Other entities that have taken pro-impeachment positions are the Green Party of the United States and Democrats Abroad.

Conyers is the only House member to serve on the Judiciary Committee during the Watergate scandal and the impeachment of President Clinton.