BULLETIN: Impeachment Hearings Broadcast and Lineup Info

Dennis Kucinich, Impeachment, John Dean, U.S. Election 2008, War on Terror

House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Imperial Presidency and possible legal responses entitled “Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations”. This is a pre-impeachment hearing on Dennis Kucinich’s articles of impeachment.

TORONTO- The following post is a collection of information that members of the public (in North America and Globally) might be interested in regarding the House Judiciary Hearing on Impeachment of President George W Bush.

 It must be made clear that the Judiciary Committe is merely holding hearings. There will be NO VOTE on which a decision will be made to go ahead with Impeachment. For your convenience, we have drawn on a number of resources (providing links) so that you may at least follow the proceedings and obtain some further background on the last six weeks leading up to the July 25th Hearings.

 To clarify: “Committee Chairman John Conyers says the hearing will focus on allegations of misconduct by administration officials. The committee will also take up what Conyers says has been described as the White House’s radical view of its power.
He says the session will examine a range of legal and legislative responses.”

The Witness List

 The House Judiciary Committee has released its witness list for Friday’s hearing on Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s (D-Ohio) impeachment resolution. One big surprise — a House Republican will testify.

Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), a huge critic of President Bush’s policy in Iraq, is scheduled to appear before the  Committee, according to a witness list just released by the panel.

Former Rep. Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate, is also scheduled to testify. Barr was a Republican from Georgia during four terms in the House.

Here’s the full witness list released by the Judiciary Committee for Friday’s session:

Panel One

The Honorable Dennis Kucinich, Representative from Ohio
The Honorable Maurice Hinchey, Representative from New York
The Honorable Walter Jones, Representative from North Carolina
The Honorable Brad Miller, Representative from North Carolina

Panel Two

The Honorable Elizabeth Holtzman, Former Representative from New York
The Honorable Bob Barr, Former Representative from Georgia, 2008 Libertarian Nominee for President
The Honorable Ross C. “Rocky” Anderson, Founder and President, High Roads for Human Rights
Stephen Presser, Raoul Berger Professor of Legal History, Northwestern University School of Law
Bruce Fein, Associate Deputy Attorney General, 1981-82, Chairman, American Freedom Agenda
Vincent Bugliosi, Author and former Los Angeles County Prosecutor
Jeremy A. Rabkin, Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law
Elliott Adams, President of the Board, Veterans for Peace
Frederick A. O. Schwarz, Jr., Senior Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

                         NADER ABSENT?

 Green Party nomination seeker Ralph Nader was hoping to be included in the hearings, writing to Conyers in an open letter: “ For years I have been urging you to initiate a resolution of impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for chronic, repeated violations of our Constitution and the many “high crimes and misdemeanors” they commit day after day. These two men are the worst recidivist impeachable occupiers of the Presidency and Vice Presidency.”

 Nader continues  “This is not the first time that I have been excluded from testifying on subjects both of us have been concerned about and have discussed. Remember your invitation to testify at your unofficial public hearing right after the 2004 elections regarding “irregularities” in Ohio? Within two days, your chief of staff, Perry Applebaum, persuaded you to disinvite me.”

                     AN ALTERNATE HEARING LIST

  Despite Nader’s claim of a freze-out, United for Peace and Justice has posted an alternate list that cites three panels - includlng John Dean and Ralph Nader. On a July 23rd mail-out they cite an AP Google report for their source and it can be viewed here.

                THE 35 ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, AND THE REALITY OF THE HEARINGS

 The entire 35 Articles of Impeachment, Introduced By Rep Dennis Kucinich - In detail, can be viewed here.

Those who would like to sign the petition can do so at the official Kucinich website.

The reality is that the Committee is only viewing ONE single article. This single article Article of Impeachment charges that George W. Bush invaded Iraq under false pretenses.

                         IMPEACHMENT BACK ON THE TABLE? 

 Nancy Pelosi had repeatedly said that Impeachment was “off the table”, however a recent article in The Nation proposes that Cindy Sheehan’s run against Pelosi in her own Congressional District may have prompted this hearing.

 ”Does anyone seriously doubt that one of the reasons why a House Judiciary Committee hearing will at least discuss the “I” word on Friday is Cindy Sheehan’s independent challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi?

Pelosi, famously, took impeachment “off the table” just before the 2006 election. …

 ”Indeed, Sheehan announced that she would challenge the speaker after it became clear – after President Bush commuted White House aide Scooter Libby’s prison sentence last summer — that Pelosi was blocking consideration of impeachment by the House.”

However, pressure has emerged from many corners. Rep Robert Wexler has been collecting signatures at his website, and most recently Veterans for Peace met with Rep John Conyers Jr. to ask him what they can do to put pressure on the process.

 Essentially, the Impeachment movement was perpetuated by a number of disparate groups over the last 6 years. At one point, Conyers office had complained in 2007 that they were so deluged with calls for Impeachment that they had little time to deal with other matters.

                  WHERE TO VIEW THE HEARINGS : LISTED SOURCES

 It certainly will be interesting to see if the mainstream media chooses to give any play to this process whatsoever. In the meantime interested citizens, politicos, and those curious in the process and legality can take advantage of a few outlets that will be covering the hearings.

1. IndyBay.com reports that if you follow THIS LINK, you’ll be able to follow the hearings live, with a repeat on Saturday, courtesy of NoLiesRadio. It will essentially be the Pacifica Radio network (KPFA) broadcast of the House Judiciary Committee hearing.

2.  CSPAN also lists the following for their Impeachment/Judiciary Hearing coverage:

“Schedule date: Friday, July 25, 2008

07:00 AM EDT
3:00 (est.) LIVE
Call-In
Washington Journal
C-SPAN, Washington Journal”

and

“10:00 AM EDT
4:00 (est.) LIVE
House Committee
Constitutional Limits of Executive Power
Judiciary
John Conyers Jr., D-MI
The beginning and end of this live program may be earlier or later than the scheduled times.”

  Whatever the outcome, for political junkies of any stripe it’s bound to be an interesting yet frustrating course of events. Drop us a line and let us know if this brief, culled at the last minute from a wide array of sources, was helpful. And certainly please consider writing us with your take on the hearings. The legal implications and context of the hearings will still be an historical event.

                                                      ~Angelica Hayden

   editor@globalpundit.org

admin @ July 25, 2008