National Lawyers Guild President on Impeaching Cheney 1-22-08

National Lawyers Guild President on Impeaching Cheney 1-22-08

Three of the nine Judiciary Committee Democrats who advocate
launching impeachment hearings against Cheney, Reps. Robert Wexler (D.,
Fla.), Luis Gutierrez (D., Ill.) and Tammy Baldwin (D., Wis.),
co-authored an op-ed that appeared on December 27 in the Philadelphia
Inquirer.

They wrote, “The issues at hand are too serious to ignore, including
credible allegations of abuse of power that, if proven, may well
constitute high crimes and misdemeanors under the Constitution. The
allegations against Cheney relate to his deceptive actions leading up
to the Iraq war, the revelation of the identity of a covert agent for
political retaliation, and the illegal wiretapping of American
citizens.”

There is also credible evidence that policies set in Cheney’s office
authorized the torture of prisoners in U.S. custody, in violation of
three treaties the United States has ratified, as well as the U.S.
Torture Statute and War Crimes Act. The policies on the treatment of
prisoners emanating from Cheney’s office triggered the abuse and
torture, according to Lawrence Wilkerson, former Secretary of State
Colin Powell’s chief of staff.

“It was clear to me that there was a visible audit trail from the
Vice President’s office through the Secretary of Defense down to the
commanders in the field,” Wilkerson, a former colonel, said on National
Public Radio’s “Morning Edition.”

In November, the House of Representatives sent the impeachment
resolution to the House Judiciary Committee for further proceedings.
However many Democrats oppose impeachment, citing the year and a half
of testimony about Bill Clinton’s personal relations. They think
impeachment will detract from Congress’s other pressing business.

Yet, the three congresspersons noted, the Clinton impeachment “must
not be the model for impeachment inquiries. A Democratic Congress can
show that it takes its constitutional authority seriously and hold a
sober investigation, which will stand in stark contrast to the kangaroo
court convened by Republicans for Clinton.”

And, they argue, the hearings would “involve the possible
impeachment of the vice president – not of our commander in chief – and
the resulting impact on the nation’s business and attention would be
significantly less than the Clinton presidential impeachment hearings.”

Seventy percent of American voters think Cheney has abused his
powers and 43 percent say he should be removed from office, according
to a Nov. 13 poll by the American Research Group. Organizations,
including the National Lawyers Guild, have called for the impeachment
of Dick Cheney.

Impeachment hearings against Cheney would not only fulfill the
Constitution’s command that high officials who commit high crimes and
misdemeanors be brought to justice. It would also deter the vice
president from committing additional crimes that threaten the national
security of the United States.

Any impeachment proceeding would have to start in the House
Judiciary Committee. The nine Democrats on the House Judiciary
Committee who favor impeachment hearings are: Robert Wexler, Fla.; Luis
Gutierrez, Ill.; Anthony Weiner, N.Y.; Tammy Baldwin, Wisc.; Sheila
Jackson Lee, Texas; Steve Cohen, Tenn.; Keith Ellison, Minn.; Maxine
Waters, Calif.; and Hank Johnson, Ga.

Here is a list of the entire House Judiciary Committee: http://judiciary.house.gov/CommitteeMembership.aspx

For information about the campaign to impeach Dick Cheney, see http://impeachcheney.org

Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and
the President of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author of
Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law. Her
articles are archived at www.marjoriecohn.com.