Why it is important for the Congress to start Impeachment hearings at this late stage of the Bush Presidency.

Many believe that while Bush deserves to be impeached for what he has done to this country in taking us into a war with Iraq based upon lies, it is too late to do anything meaningful and that they should just let his term come to an end. Well that argument can be overwhelmed with a more compelling reason to pursue impeachment.

According to many expert Constitutional lawyers, there are several compelling reasons to pursue impeachment of President Bush, even at this late stage of his Presidency. Let me cite a few reasons why many citizens have no clue as to the ramifications of Impeachment hearings at this late stage of the Bush Presidency. First, if Articles of Impeachment are brought up against President Bush, the President would lose his power to grant blanket pardons to those of his Administration who may have committed crimes. There is considerable buzz in the press that this is exactly what Bush plans to do before leaving office.

Secondly, once Articles of Impeachment have been initiated by Congress, the President loses his right of Executive Privilege. Why is this important. It is important because this President and Vice President have kept much hidden from Congress to do its job of oversight of the Executive branch. If the Articles were initiated, we might understand whether there were Crimes committed by Vice President Cheney in outing then CIA covert operative Valerie Plame. Remember that it was Special Prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, who was charged with investigating the CIA leak and found Scooter Libby guilty (and then pardoned by Bush) and said that there was a cloud around the Vice President as to whether he also committed a crime. This is important and has not been resolved. These are several good reasons why it is important to initiate the Articles of Impeachment of Bush. Thank you Rep. Dennis Kucinich for initiating this process, Rep.Robert Wexler for his support, as well as Committee Chairman Rep. John Conyers.

Raise your voice to your elected officials to support these proceedings going forward. To listen to the hearings in real time starting at about 10:30am EST or 7:30am PST on CSPAN or on the radio on KPFA, which will broadcast this Congressional meeting live.

Cheney Urged Wiretaps over objections of Justice Dept

This from the Washington Post today, June 7th, 2007

"Stand-In for Ashcroft Alleges Interference
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 7, 2007

Vice President Cheney told Justice Department officials that he disagreed with their objections to a secret surveillance program during a high-level White House meeting in March 2004, a former senior Justice official told senators yesterday.

The meeting came one day before White House officials tried to get approval for the same program from then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, who lay recovering from surgery in a hospital, according to former deputy attorney general James B. Comey.

Comey's disclosures, made in response to written questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee, indicate that Cheney and his aides were more closely involved than previously known in a fierce internal battle over the legality of the warrantless surveillance program. The program allowed the National Security Agency to monitor phone calls and e-mails between the United States and overseas.

Comey said that Cheney's office later blocked the promotion of a senior Justice Department lawyer, Patrick Philbin, because of his role in raising concerns about the surveillance.

The disclosures also provide further details about the role played by then-White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales. He visited Ashcroft in his hospital room and wrote an internal memorandum on the surveillance program shortly afterward, according to Comey's responses. Gonzales is now the attorney general. He faces possible congressional votes of no-confidence because of his handling of the firings of nine U.S. attorneys last year.

"How are you, General?" Gonzales asked Ashcroft at the hospital, according to Comey.

"Not well," replied Ashcroft, who had just undergone gallbladder surgery and was battling pancreatitis.

The new details follow Comey's gripping testimony last month about the visit by Gonzales and Andrew H. Card Jr., then President Bush's chief of staff, to Ashcroft's hospital bed on the night of March 10, 2004. The two Bush aides tried to persuade Ashcroft to renew the authorization of the NSA surveillance program, after Comey and other Justice Department officials had said they would not certify the legality of the effort, according to the testimony and other officials.

Ashcroft refused, noting that Comey had been designated as acting attorney general during his illness.

The episode prompted sharp criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, who questioned whether Gonzales and Card were attempting to take advantage of a sick man to get around legal objections from government lawyers. It is unclear who directed the two Bush aides to make the visit.

Democrats said yesterday that the new details from Comey raise further questions about the role of Cheney and other White House officials in the episode.

"Mr. Comey has confirmed what we suspected for a while -- that White House hands guided Justice Department business," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). "The vice president's fingerprints are all over the effort to strong-arm Justice on the NSA program, and the obvious next question is: Exactly what role did the president play?" To read the rest of the article click on the words, "Washington Post", at the top of this article.

VP Dick Cheney, or Darth Vada as he is usually called by his friends, has been the power behind the throne in so many ways for this Administration, which now becomes more clear with every day. He was the one pushing the claim of a Nuclear threat by Saddam Hussein, the leaking of Valerie Plame's name for which Scooter Libbey, the fall guy and Cheney's close friend and aid, received a 2 1/2 year sentence this week for a crime of perjury in the Patrick Fitzgerald, Special Prosecuter, investigation. And now the revelation that he was behind this story and pushing the illegal Wiretaps against Justice Dept. objections.

Cheney should have been fired in 2004 by President Bush, who has not been served well by this VP. But it's not too late Mr. President to save your legacy and get rid of Cheney. Think about all the positive effect this would have with the Republican party. We could blame Cheney for almost everything wrong in the past 6 plus years and give you a fresh start with the Country.

Patrick Fitzgerald, Federal Prosecuter, a real class act

Scooter Libby was found guilty on 4 out of 5 counts by a jury today. We owe a lot to the Federal Prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald. He was a class act in doing his job and speaking outside the Court today. I nominate him to replace Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. It could make this Administration more palatable to have such a man of principle and honor serving the public interest. Watch for Fitzgerald being drafted to serve in a more public capacity in the coming years. Again, you did a great job. Your country is lucky to have you.