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Anonymous
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These are the hearings I posted about yesterday- nearly 6 hours of hearings..I got a chance to watch the parts I missed yesterday, last night...Charges ranging from Bush should be indicted for murder- to war crimes- to violation of US torture laws- to obstructing justice- to impeachment for refusal to allow Congressional Oversight.....
You can argue the others all day long- but I think the one that is the biggest Constitutional Crisis is the Congressional Oversight- because Bush is claiming anyone with connection to the White House has Administrative Immunity from releasing documents or testifying- and the fact that he is selectively enforcing the law- picking bits and pieces out of a law- and using the argument that everything else is unconstitutional to get around not enforcing it , something never allowed before...
It was kind of comical- that while the Republicans arguing to protect GW couldn't argue against the facts- they had to argue that he was just a bumbling idiot, or been misled by bad legal advice, and couldn't be impeached because he had no intent to do wrong or harm...
I think former Congressman (Libertarian Presidential Candidate) Bob Barr and former Reagan Deputy Attorney General Bruce Fein were probably the most learned on the Constitution and operation of government that testified.....
When some of the Republicans on the committee started yipping about witch hunt it was Rep Jones of N.C. another Republican and strong Constitionalist that reminded them that the next President likely could be a Democrat- and if they allowed these violations to go unchallenged that it would set precedent and automatically revert these powers to him- just as Barr said....
I doubt if any impeachment will take place altho there was total agreement that there definitely is much more than enough probable cause to bring them about...
I believe Congress will follow Schwarz's (who was a member of the Church Commission) advice to try and get consent from both Presidential Candidates- and then set up an Independent Commission to look into the allegations, violations of law, and look at remedy to close the gaps without having to do an impeachment... Which I agree with as Impeachment will just tear this already divided country further apart- but these actions that have occurred need to be made open and transparent- which is necessary for us to keep operating as a Republic...
As Fein said "Sunlight is the best Disinfectant"....
It was agreed upon tho during the hearings- that once a President leaves office- they or none of their administration any longer has any immunity from any criminal charges that may be brought upon them by the US, state govt., or International Courts....
Scarily--several echoed Ron Pauls and the right wing Conservative fear- of what more will King George do in his last 6 months in office.....Many still think he will go around the Constitutional war powers and start a war with Iran....
You can argue the others all day long- but I think the one that is the biggest Constitutional Crisis is the Congressional Oversight- because Bush is claiming anyone with connection to the White House has Administrative Immunity from releasing documents or testifying- and the fact that he is selectively enforcing the law- picking bits and pieces out of a law- and using the argument that everything else is unconstitutional to get around not enforcing it , something never allowed before...
It was kind of comical- that while the Republicans arguing to protect GW couldn't argue against the facts- they had to argue that he was just a bumbling idiot, or been misled by bad legal advice, and couldn't be impeached because he had no intent to do wrong or harm...
I think former Congressman (Libertarian Presidential Candidate) Bob Barr and former Reagan Deputy Attorney General Bruce Fein were probably the most learned on the Constitution and operation of government that testified.....
BARR: If we don't get a handle on this now, in some form or fashion, the next administration and the one after that, regardless of party, will take these abuses, these powers, these liberties with the fundamental institutions of our government, and take them to even higher and higher levels."
"FEIN: The Executive Branch has vandalized the Constitution every bit as much as the barbarians sacked Rome in 410 A.D. The Executive Branch has destroyed the constitution's time honored checks and balanced [and] taken the nation perilously close to executive despotism.
US Congressional Panel Hears Testimony on Case for Bush Impeachment
By Dan Robinson
Washington
25 July 2008
A congressional committee has heard testimony about the case for impeachment of President Bush. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, while majority Democrats have ruled out formal impeachment efforts, they approved the public hearing to examine limitations on presidential powers and arguments about what constitute impeachable offenses.
Critics say President Bush and Vice President Cheney should be impeached because of a range of alleged legal and constitutional abuses.
The list includes administration justifications to Congress and Americans for the war in Iraq, authorization of secret electronic surveillance, approval of harsh interrogation techniques, and defiance of congressional subpoenas.
-------------------
Bruce Fein, a former Associate Deputy U.S. Attorney General and one of the first constitutional legal scholars to call for impeachment, was joined by Vincent Bugliosi, a former Los Angeles County Prosecutor:
"FEIN: The Executive Branch has vandalized the Constitution every bit as much as the barbarians sacked Rome in 410 A.D. The Executive Branch has destroyed the constitution's time honored checks and balanced [and] taken the nation perilously close to executive despotism.
BUGLIOSI: Whether Republican or Democrat, all Americans should be absolutely outraged by what this administration has done. How dare they do what they have done. How dare they!"
Also testifying were Bob Barr and Elizabeth Holtzman, former Republican and Democratic members of Congress:
"HOLTZMAN: The only remedy and that is the one the framers gave to the Congress of the U.S., the House and the Senate, is the remedy of impeachment because no one can interfere with it.
BARR: If we don't get a handle on this now, in some form or fashion, the next administration and the one after that, regardless of party, will take these abuses, these powers, these liberties with the fundamental institutions of our government, and take them to even higher and higher levels."
Frederick Schwarz, of New York University's School of Law, says any impeachment effort at this stage would be too late and politically divisive, but recommends creation of a bipartisan investigative commission. "I recommend that the Congress and the new president sign a bill that sets up an independent nonpartisan and bipartisan investigatory commission that will look at what has been done wrong, look at what has been done right, and recommend remedies for things that have been done wrong," he said.
Elliott Adams represented the anti-war organization Veterans for Peace. "When our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, they were not worried about political will or about how much time there was or about what parties might effect their political future. They were just worried that they were going to be hanged by the neck, yet they did the right thing. Now gentlemen it is your time to stand up," he said.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-25-voa55.cfm
When some of the Republicans on the committee started yipping about witch hunt it was Rep Jones of N.C. another Republican and strong Constitionalist that reminded them that the next President likely could be a Democrat- and if they allowed these violations to go unchallenged that it would set precedent and automatically revert these powers to him- just as Barr said....
Frederick Schwarz, of New York University's School of Law, says any impeachment effort at this stage would be too late and politically divisive, but recommends creation of a bipartisan investigative commission. "I recommend that the Congress and the new president sign a bill that sets up an independent nonpartisan and bipartisan investigatory commission that will look at what has been done wrong, look at what has been done right, and recommend remedies for things that have been done wrong," he said.
I doubt if any impeachment will take place altho there was total agreement that there definitely is much more than enough probable cause to bring them about...
I believe Congress will follow Schwarz's (who was a member of the Church Commission) advice to try and get consent from both Presidential Candidates- and then set up an Independent Commission to look into the allegations, violations of law, and look at remedy to close the gaps without having to do an impeachment... Which I agree with as Impeachment will just tear this already divided country further apart- but these actions that have occurred need to be made open and transparent- which is necessary for us to keep operating as a Republic...
As Fein said "Sunlight is the best Disinfectant"....
It was agreed upon tho during the hearings- that once a President leaves office- they or none of their administration any longer has any immunity from any criminal charges that may be brought upon them by the US, state govt., or International Courts....
Scarily--several echoed Ron Pauls and the right wing Conservative fear- of what more will King George do in his last 6 months in office.....Many still think he will go around the Constitutional war powers and start a war with Iran....