Article IV: The Case for Impeachment of George W. Bush

Article IV
MISLEADING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND MEMBERS
OF CONGRESS TO BELIEVE IRAQ POSED AN
IMMINENT THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES

In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution “to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” has both personally and acting through his agents and subordinates, together with the Vice President, executed a calculated and wide-ranging strategy to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United States into believing that the nation of Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States in order to justify the use of the United States Armed Forces against the nation of Iraq in a manner damaging
to our national security interests, thereby interfering with and obstructing Congress’s lawful functions of overseeing foreign affairs and declaring war.

The means used to implement this deception were and continue to be,first, allowing, authorizing and sanctioning the manipulation of intelligence analysis by those under his direction and control, including the Vice President and the Vice President’s agents, and second, personally making, or causing, authorizing and allowing to be made through highly-placed subordinates, including the President’s Chief of Staff, the White House Press Secretary and other White House spokespersons, the Secretaries of State and Defense, the National Security Advisor, and their deputies and spokespersons, false and fraudulent representations to the citizens of the United States and Congress regarding an alleged urgent threat posed by Iraq, statements that were halftrue, literally true but misleading, and/or made without a reasonable basis and with reckless indifference to their truth, as well as omitting to state facts necessary to present an accurate picture of the truth as follows:

(A) Notwithstanding the complete absence of intelligence analysis to support a claim that Iraq posed an imminent or urgent threat to the United States and the intelligence community’s assessment that Iraq was in fact not likely to attack the United States unless it was itself attacked, President Bush, both personally and through his agents and subordinates, made, allowed and caused to be made repeated false representations to the citizens and Congress of the United States implying and explicitly stating that such a dire threat existed, including the following:

(1) “States such as these [Iraq, Iran and North Korea] and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic.” —President Bush’s State of the Union Address, January 29, 2002.
(2) “Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. He is amassing them to use against our friends our enemies and against us.” —Speech of Vice President Cheney at VFW 103rd National Convention, August 26, 2002.
(3) “The history, the logic, and the facts lead to one conclusion: Saddam Hussein’s regime is a grave and gathering danger. To suggest otherwise is to hope against the evidence. To assume this regime’s good faith is to bet the lives of millions and the peace of the world in a reckless gamble. And this is a risk we must not take.” —Address of President Bush to the United Nations General Assembly, September 12, 2002.
(4) “[N]o terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people than the regime of Saddam Hussein and Iraq.” —Statement of Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to Congress,September 19, 2002.
(5) “On its present course, the Iraqi regime is a threat of unique urgency.. . . it has developed weapons of mass death.” —Statement of President Bush at White House, October 2, 2002.
(6) “But the President also believes that this problem has to be dealt with, and if the United Nations won’t deal with it, then the United States, with other likeminded nations, may have to deal with it. We would prefer not to go that route, but the danger is so great, with respect to Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction, and perhaps even terrorists getting hold of such weapons, that it is time for the international community to act, and if it doesn’t act, the President is prepared to act with likeminded nations.” —Statement of Former Secretary of State Colin Powell in interview with Ellen Ratner of Talk Radio News, October 30, 2002.
(7) “Today the world is also uniting to answer the unique and urgent threat posed by Iraq. A dictator who has used weapons of mass destruction on his own people must not be allowed to produce or possess those weapons. We will not permit Saddam Hussein to blackmail and/or terrorize nations which love freedom.” —Speech by President Bush to Prague Atlantic Student Summit, November 20, 2002.
(8) “But the risk of doing nothing, the risk of the security of this country being jeopardized at the hands of a madman with weapons of mass destruction far exceeds the risk of any action we may be forced to take.”—President Bush Meets with National Economic Council at White House,February 25, 2003.
(B) In furtherance of his fraudulent effort to deceive Congress and the citizens of the United States into believing that Iraq and Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat to the United States, the President allowed and authorized those acting under his direction and control, including Vice President Richard B. Cheney, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Lewis Libby, who reportedly directly to both the President and the Vice President, among others, to pressure intelligence analysts to tailor their assessments and to create special units outside of, and unknown to, the intelligence community in order to secretly obtain unreliable information, to manufacture intelligence, or to reinterpret raw data in ways that would support the Bush administration’s plan to invade Iraq based on a false claim
of urgency despite the lack of justification for such a preemptive action.
(C) The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report on Whether Public Statements Regarding Iraq By US Government Officials Were Substantiated By Intelligence Information, which was released on June 5, 2008, concluded that:

(1) “Statements by the President and the Vice President indicating that Saddam Hussein was prepared to give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups for attacks against the United States were contradicted by available intelligence information.”
Thus the President willfully and falsely misrepresented Iraq as an urgent threat requiring immediate action thereby subverting the national security interests of the United States by setting the stage for the loss of more than 4000 United States service members; the injuries to tens of thousands of US soldiers; the deaths of more than 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens since the United States invasion; the loss of approximately $527 billion in war costs which has increased our Federal debt and the ultimate costs of the war between three trillion and five trillion dollars; the loss of military readiness within the United States Armed Services due to overextension, the lack of training and lack of equipment; the loss of United States credibility in world affairs; and the decades of likely blowback created by the invasion of Iraq.

In all of these actions and decisions, President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and Commander in Chief, and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President George W. Bush, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.


Article IV notes
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, “Report on Whether Public Statements Regarding Iraq By US Government Officials Were Substantiated By Intelligence Information,” June 5, 2008. http://intelligence.senate.gov/080605/phase2a.pdf

John Judis, “The Selling of the Iraq War, The First Casualty,” New Republic, June 30, 2003. http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/unmovic/2003/0630selling.htm

John Conyers, Constitution in Crisis, Chapter Two, Chronology, 2005.http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/section2.pdf

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Former CIA Director George J. Tenet at Georgetown University,February 5, 2004. http://www.fas.org/irp/cia/product/dci020504.html

Letter from Former CIA Director George Tenet to Senate Intelligence Committee, October 7, 2002. http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2002/iraq-021007-cia01.htm

President Bush’s State of the Union Address, January 29, 2002. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html

Speech of Vice President Cheney at VFW 103rd National Convention, August 26, 2002. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/08/20020826.html

Address of President Bush to the United Nations General Assembly, September 12, 2002http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/09/20020912-1.html

Testimony of Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to Senate Armed Services Committee, September 19, 2002. http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=287

Statement of President Bush at White House, October 2, 2002http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021002-7.html

Statement of Former Secretary of State Colin Powell in Interview with Ellen Ratner, Talk Radio News,October 30, 2002. http://www.state.gov/secretary/former/powell/remarks/2002/14807.htm

Speech of President Bush to Prague Atlantic Student Summit, November 20, 2002. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/11/20021120-4.html

Remarks of President Bush to National Economic Council at White House, February 25, 2003. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/images/20030225-6_econ-022403-d-ed-1-515h.html

John Conyers, Constitution in Crisis, Chapter 3, 2005. http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/section3b.pdf

Gilbert Burnham, et al, “Mortality After the 2003 Invasion of Iraq,” The Lancet, October 11, 2006. http://kucinich.house.gov/UploadedFiles/clo2.pdf

Amy Belasco, “The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11,”

Congressional Research Service, March 14, 2007. http://kucinich.house.gov/UploadedFiles/clo3.pdf

Lawrence Korb, “A Troop Readiness Crisis, Boston Globe, April 11, 2007. http://kucinich.house.gov/UploadedFiles/clo4.pdf

You Scum, Scott McClellan. Why did you wait so long?

I received this, as did thousands of others from Congressman Robert Wexler:
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Last night, significant news broke that directly impacts our push for Impeachment Hearings and a possible Inherent Contempt charge for Bush Administration officials such as Karl Rove:

Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has revealed in his upcoming book that:

• Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and Vice President Cheney lied about their role in revealing the identity of Valerie Plame Wilson – actions easily amounting to obstruction of Justice.
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Easily amounting to obstruction of justice? Are you kidding me? Clinton was impeached over the definition of the word “is”. We the People spent $70 million of tax payer’s money to determine the origin of a stain on a blue dress. Rove, Libby, and Cheney participated in outing a covert CIA agent. An agent that specialized in making sure Iran did not get nuclear weapons. [1]

United States Code at 18 U.S.C. § 2381 states "whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."

It seems to me that outing a CIA agent that is working to prevent a nation our President has termed “Evil” from getting nuclear weapons is giving the aid to our enemies. Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and Vice President Cheney should all be immediately be investigated by Congress on charges of Treason.

It seems only fair if found guilty, to sentence them to death just as this Texas herd of criminals has imposed the ultimate penalty on so many on Texas’ death row.
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McClellan also admitted that:

• There was a coordinated effort within the Bush Administration to use propaganda to pump up the case for the Iraq war and hide the projected costs of the war from the public.

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The Bush administration paid reporters to tilt their reporting to support administration policies on several occasions. [2] If they would be so under handed as to pay for spin on “No Child Left Behind”, a bogus issue to distract people; then is it a stretch at all to think that they intentionally fed the MSM the exact text and tone of the message they wanted the American people to get? Just look back at the TV footage. Every network uses the same buzz words. Every major network used similar graphics and banners that conveyed not only overt propaganda supplied by this administration, the images and sound bites used were designed to send subliminal messages of fear.

Fear to keep us in line 9/11. Fear to make us follow their lead 9/11 to where ever they want to go. Fear of the world 9/11…Has one day yet gone by that they have not said or referred to 9/11?

As for the cost of the war, what profit is there in making it quick?
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Scott McClellan must be called to testify under oath before the House Judiciary Committee to tell Congress and the American people everything he knows about this massive effort by the White House to deceive this nation into war.

Last week, a subpoena was issued for Karl Rove to testify before the Judiciary Committee. It appears he will take every legal action to block this subpoena. The truth is that Congress has the right – and obligation – to hold him accountable now - not months or years from now. It is long past time to pass Inherent Contempt and bring Rove, Libby and others before Congress.

We simply cannot ignore these recent developments, nor should we postpone serious inquiry until after the next election.
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Unfortunately Speaker Pelosi took impeachment off the table, and seems to be determined to keep it off the table. The Democrats are taking an enormous risk by their laise-faire attitude toward upholding the Constitution. Do they not realize the 2006 win was a mandate to stop this administration from doing further harm?

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Your commitment to accountability for the Bush/Cheney Administration, and the support of 230,000 other Americans who signed up at wexlerwantshearings.com, has inspired and motivated me in my effort to hold impeachment hearings for Vice President Dick Cheney and Inherent Contempt for Rove and others. During the past months I have been a tireless and dogged advocate of this vitally important cause.

Many of you have written me, asking for an update on where we stand with regards to impeachment hearings. I know most of you believe - as I do - that impeachment hearings for Vice President Cheney – are not only justified, but that it is our constitutional obligation to look into the serious allegations of wrongdoing that have been raised. This is especially true based on the newest revelations from Scott McClellan.

I believe that it is the duty of Congress to pursue impeachment whenever there's significant evidence of wrongdoing, be it by Republicans or Democrats, regardless of the timing of elections or the current political environment.

Some of you have written me demanding that I deliver hearings or impeachment. As hard as I have been fighting for this cause, I cannot make impeachment happen by myself. What I can do, and what I have been doing at every turn, is trying to communicate two simple messages to my colleagues:

• the serious allegations of wrongdoing and the clear-cut rationale for impeachment hearings;and
• the fact that the public will support our efforts when Congress boldly acts on the side of justice and accountability.

Unfortunately, to date, these arguments have not been enough to convince even a majority of the liberal and progressive Members of Congress to support impeachment hearings. In addition, the leadership of the Democratic Party in Congress genuinely feels that pursuing impeachment will jeopardize our congressional agenda and threaten gains in the November elections. Although I genuinely disagree with this view, to date I have been unable to convince them to change this policy.

I understand the challenges that we are up against, and I recognize the odds that we face. Nevertheless, I remain unfazed and unyielding.

This new evidence from Scott McClellan could be the tipping point – but we must move quickly. I will use the McClellan admissions to help convince my colleagues that we must hold impeachment hearings.

Regardless, I will continue to fight for progressive values and our Constitution. I will do everything I can to pursue accountability for criminal actions taken by this Administration and this Vice President. I will be a furious opponent to any expansion of this misguided war, and I will fight against the use of torture by our government and to protect our civil liberties here at home.

Most of all, I will continue my efforts to convince my fellow members of Congress and voters, that we should not be a party of passivity - but that we succeed when we present the public with stark choices that are based on the guarantees in our Constitution, and not on the politics of the moment.

I will continue - at every pass - to call for impeachment and accountability. While I wish more of my colleagues supported our movement, we must not let our discouragement lead to apathy and distraction in this important election year when we must break free from eight long years of illegalities, corporate handouts, and a tragic and devastating war.

We should not end the calls for impeachment. I will push against the crimes of the Bush Administration whenever I am provided the opportunity. I will use my role on the Judiciary Committee to take on Administration officials – like I have done with Condoleezza Rice, Attorney Generals Gonzalez and Mukasey, and FBI Director Mueller.

I have not given up our fight to hold this Administration accountable and neither can you. I am grateful for your patriotism and your support. I'll continue to keep you informed and part of the conversation.

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This administration has lied to us, endangered us, and has done so willingly. These are not the actions of bumbling idiots that are just making dumb mistakes. The actions of this administration were planned and implemented for reasons I cannot fathom.

I feel that it is my duty as a citizen to take a stand to defend the Constitution against all enemies, even if those enemies are our highest ranking officials. I have written my Congressman. I ask you to do the same.

https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml
Address your email to The Honorable Member of Congress Representative ___________.

Use your own words, be polite and state clearly your reasons for supporting impeachment of Vice President Cheney and the indictment of Karl Rove and Scooter Libby for crimes against the United States in the form of Obstruction of Justice, lying to Congress and the American people about the reasons to go to war, and treason for the outting of an active covert CIA agent.

You will feel better after you do. Keep on writing. They like getting mail.

[1] Muriel Kane and Dave Edwards, "CBS confirms 2006 Raw Story scoop: Plame's job was to keep nukes from Iran," Raw Story (20 October 2007).
[2] http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/26/politics/main669432.shtml