Balloon advocating for the impeachment of Cheney and President George W. Bush in 2008

In April 2007, United States Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) filed an impeachment resolution (H.Res. 333) against Vice President Dick Cheney, seeking his trial in the Senate on three charges. After months of inaction, Kucinich re-introduced the exact content of H. Res 333 as a new resolution numbered H.Res. 799 in November 2007. Both resolutions were referred to the Judiciary Committee immediately after their introduction and the Committee did not consider either. Both resolutions expired upon the termination of the 110th United States Congress on January 3, 2009.

Process

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The resolution charged that Vice President Cheney:

  1. had purposely manipulated the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United States by fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
  2. had fabricated a threat about an alleged relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda, in order to justify the use of the U.S. Armed Forces against Iraq in a manner damaging to U.S. national security interests
  3. in violation of his constitutional oath and duty, openly threatened aggression against Iran absent any real threat to the United States, and had done so with the proven U.S. capability to carry out such threats, thus undermining U.S. national security. [1][2]

The resolution was authored and submitted by Congressman Dennis Kucinich, a representative of Ohio who was also a presidential candidate in the 2008 election. Congressman Kucinich has made available more than 45 documents supporting the articles of impeachment at his Congressional website, including at least 15 for each article. [3]

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Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced the resolution on April 24, 2007. During his press conference announcing the resolution, Kucinich stated that he had not informed his party's leadership of the resolution and had not recently spoken about the resolution with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi or Congressman John Conyers, the Chairman of the committee to which his resolution was referred.[4]

Upon introduction, Resolution 333 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Congressman John Conyers. Kucinich's resolution slowly gathered additional co-sponsors, but the Judiciary Committee never addressed the resolution at a hearing. On November 6, 2007, Kucinich read the text of HRES 333 on the House floor as a new resolution (H Res 799 Archived January 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine), offering it as a "Question of the Privileges of the House". Democratic leadership, led by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, immediately moved to table the resolution. In what was expected to be an overwhelming vote in favor of tabling,[5] Republicans began voting against doing so, trying to force a debate "potentially embarrassing" to Democrats.[6] The resolution was kept alive after a vote of 251-162 against tabling, with 165 Republicans voting against terminating it.[5][6][7] To avoid a debate, Hoyer then made a motion to refer H Res 799 to the Judiciary Committee for its review, although this referral would not require Committee action on the resolution. This motion was successful and the resolution was referred to the Judiciary Committee after a vote of 218-194.[5][8][9] House speaker Nancy Pelosi has said "impeachment is off the table",[5] and the Democrats have no interest in impeaching Mr. Cheney or President Bush over the Iraq war.[6]

Both resolutions were referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, chaired by Congressman Jerrold Nadler in addition to the Judiciary Committee. Neither committee ever held a hearing to consider either resolution. Both resolutions expired at the end of the 110th Congress on January 3, 2009.

Co-sponsors

In addition to Rep. Kucinich, the prime sponsor of the resolution, there were twenty-six co-sponsors:

Name of RepresentativeState - DistrictPartyDate SignedNotes
Tammy BaldwinWisconsin - 2DemocraticJanuary 8, 2007member of House Judiciary Committee
Leonard BoswellIowa - 3DemocraticFebruary 14, 2008
Robert BradyPennsylvania - 1DemocraticJuly 24, 2007
Yvette ClarkeNew York - 11DemocraticJune 6, 2007
William Lacy Clay, Jr.Missouri - 1DemocraticJanuary 5, 2007
Steve CohenTennessee - 9DemocraticApril 8, 2007member of House Judiciary Committee
member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
Danny K. DavisIllinois - 7DemocraticMay 11, 2007
Keith EllisonMinnesota - 5Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor PartyJune 28, 2007member of House Judiciary Committee
member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
Sam FarrCalifornia - 17DemocraticDecember 7, 2007
Bob FilnerCalifornia - 51DemocraticDecember 7, 2007
Raul GrijalvaArizona - 7DemocraticMay 12, 2007
Sheila Jackson-LeeTexas - 18DemocraticApril 8, 2007member of House Judiciary Committee
Hank JohnsonGeorgia - 4DemocraticJune 28, 2007member of House Judiciary Committee
Carolyn KilpatrickMichigan - 13DemocraticJuly 9, 2007
Barbara LeeCalifornia - 9DemocraticJuly 6, 2007
Jim McDermottWashington - 7DemocraticOctober 7, 2007
James MoranVirginia - 8DemocraticOctober 7, 2007
Gwen MooreWisconsin - 4DemocraticDecember 19, 2007
Donald M. PayneNew Jersey - 10DemocraticJanuary 8, 2007
Jan SchakowskyIllinois - 9DemocraticJanuary 5, 2007
Pete StarkCalifornia - 13DemocraticMay 3, 2008
Edolphus TownsNew York - 10DemocraticSeptember 27, 2007
Maxine WatersCalifornia - 35DemocraticDecember 6, 2007member of House Judiciary Committee
Diane WatsonCalifornia - 33DemocraticOctober 16, 2007
Robert WexlerFlorida - 19DemocraticNovember 6, 2008member of House Judiciary Committee
Lynn WoolseyCalifornia - 6DemocraticJuly 6, 2007
Albert WynnMaryland - 4DemocraticOctober 5, 2007

See also

References

  1. ↑ Library of Congress, H.RES.333, Summary as of: 04/24/2007--Introduced Archived September 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, THOMAS
  2. ↑ Library of Congress, HRES 333 IH Archived March 9, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, THOMAS
  3. ↑ "Supporting Documents for H Res 333" Archived May 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Michael Roston, Kucinich announces impeachment charges against Vice President Cheney, The Raw Story, April 24, 2007
  5. 1 2 3 4 "House Avoids Cheney Impeachment Debate", November 7, 2007. Retrieved on June 26, 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 "Kucinich Offers Bill to Impeach Cheney", The New York Times, November 7, 2007. Retrieved on June 26, 2009.
  7. ↑ Jim Abrams (November 6, 2007). "Debate on Cheney Impeachment Averted". Associated Press (AP). Archived from the original on November 9, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
  8. ↑ Johanna Neuman (November 7, 2007). "Cheney impeachment resolution sent to House committee". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
  9. ↑ Deadline (November 6, 2007). "House tied in knots over resolution to impeach Cheney". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 21, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
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