Wexler plans to introduce censure measure.
Wexler plans to introduce censure measure.
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) said Bush’s commutation order “is nothing short of (a) political quid pro quo, and Congress must go on record in strong opposition.” He “has drafted a resolution to censure Bush and plans to introduce it when Congress returns next Tuesday.” The text of his censure resolution is below:
Resolution relating to the censure of George W. Bush
Whereas President George W. Bush has failed to comply with his obligations under Executive Order 12958 concerning the protection of classified national security information in that the covert identity of Valerie Plame Wilson as a Central Intelligence Agency operative was revealed to members of the media, and in June 2003 Bush Administration officials discussed with various reporters the identity of Ms. Wilson as a covert Central Intelligence Agency operative;
Whereas on July 14, 2003, the name of Ms. Wilson and her status as a CIA operative was revealed publicly in a newspaper column by Robert Novak, and on September 16, 2003 the Central Intelligence Agency advised the Department of Justice that Ms. Wilson’s status as a covert operative was classified information and requested a federal investigation;
Whereas knowingly leaking the identity of a covert agent is a criminal violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act (P.L. 97-200);
Whereas Arthur Brown, former Asian Division chief of the CIA, stated that, “cover and tradecraft are the only forms of protection one has and to have that stripped away because of political scheming is the moral equivalent to exposing forward deployed military units”;
Whereas Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, effectively stopped the investigation into this potentially grave national security crime by lying to FBI investigators, and Mr. Libby’s perjury shielded the Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush from further inquiry;
Whereas on March 6, 2007, in U.S. District Court a jury found Mr. Libby guilty on four counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements to FBI investigators regarding an investigation into the actions of the White House regarding leaking the identity of Ms. Wilson in retaliation for her husband’s contention that the Bush administration twisted intelligence facts to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq;
Whereas on June 5, 2007, Mr. Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000;
Whereas President George W. Bush had appointed both the Special Prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, and the US District Court Judge, Reggie Walton, who were involved in the trial of Mr. Libby;
Whereas in February 2004, President George W. Bush stated that if anyone in his Administration “has violated [the] law, that person will be taken care of”;
Whereas on July 2, 2007, President Bush commuted the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison;
Whereas in commuting Mr. Libby’s sentence, President Bush has finally and unalterably breached any remaining shred of trust that he had left with the American people and rewarded political loyalty while flouting the rule of law: Now, therefore let be it —
Resolved, That the United States Congress does hereby censure George W. Bush, President of the United States, and does condemn his decision to commute the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison, his unconscionable abuse of his authority with regard to the deceitful chain of events concerning the falsifying intelligence on Iraqi nuclear capabilities and the exaggeration of the threat posed by Iraq, his involvement in the clear political retaliation against former Ambassador and Ms. Wilson, and his decision to reward the perjury of Mr. Libby, which effectively protected President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other Administration officials from further scrutiny.
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Good move Waxy..your ratings can't get any lower might as well continue to make a fool of yourself.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:20 pmFrank J,
In case you missed it, this country is not happy with the President's commutation of Libby. I seriously doubt a censure would hurt those ratings at all.
I thought you guys didn't worry about polls anyway. Better to be a strong leader right?
July 5th, 2007 at 2:21 pmCould we maybe slap his wrist, too? Or send him to bed without supper?
July 5th, 2007 at 2:21 pmWhereas in February 2004, President George W. Bush stated that if anyone in his Administration “has violated [the] law, that person will be taken care ofâ€;
Yes, he 'took care' of Scooter (what's with the kindergarten nickname anyhow?) alright.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:22 pmOoo - censure is pretty bad. I remember it from my Model Congress days back in high school. Getting censured meant you lost all hope of awards weren't getting invited to any of the after-session parties.
Guess Georgie can kiss that Best Speaker in Committee award goodbye!
July 5th, 2007 at 2:22 pmBoy, those trolls sure do sneer a lot! It's a wonder their lips don't fall off.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:24 pmOkay, Wexler, you go do that.
HA!
July 5th, 2007 at 2:25 pmI think it needs more than a censure resolution. I think that what he did was illegal and they need to pursue that. What he did was to commute the sentence of someone who has information that may point to crimes committed by both Bush and Chaney. That is not what the founding fathers had in mind when they gave this power to the President and I believe I read somewhere they prohibited the use for this purpose.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:25 pm"Good move Waxy..your ratings can’t get any lower might as well continue to make a fool of yourself.
Comment by Frank J "
Another thing you missed is that the people are not angry with the Democrats as much as they are angry with the Republics. A recent poll showed that 56% of the people in this country want the Democrats to lead them as opposed to 34% who want the Republics to lead them. So, spin all you want, no one is listening to your garbage.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:27 pmThis will mean so much to a man that has ignored federal sentencing guidelines, FISA, Geneva Conventions, the NIE, his own Generals, the Texas Air National Guard, bills he amends through signing statements, and the majority of voters that didn't vote for him.
Impeach is the word.
I only look forward to when Scooter needs a second commutation after he violates his probation by consorting with the felons in the white house.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:27 pmThat is not what the founding fathers had in mind when they gave this power to the President and I believe I read somewhere they prohibited the use for this purpose.
Comment by Katie — July 5, 2007 @ 2:25 pm
AND he violated Robert's Rules of Order.
Stomping on the Constitution is one thing, but you DO NOT mess with decorum.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:28 pmBravo! It should be made clear to the American people that Libby's being rewarded for behaviour that the White House approves of. Bush & Cheney wanted Plame outted. They wanted Wilson punished. They wanted to obstruct an investigation into the outting --despite all of Bush's lies to the contrary-- and they have no interest in justice or truth.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:29 pmCensure is a slap on the wrist. Bush and Cheney must be impeached.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:30 pmKatie,
"That is not what the founding fathers had in mind when they gave this power to the President"
Well it isn't what they had in mind, but it is what they left us. George Mason spoke about the real danger of this kind of power if left unchecked.
"The President of the United States has the unrestrained Power of granting Pardons for Treason; which may be sometimes exercised to screen from punishment those whom he had secretly instigated to commit the Crime, & thereby prevent a Discovery of his own Guilt. – George Mason (1725-1792), the “father of the Bill of Rights,†noting his objection to presidential pardon powers in his first draft commentary on the Constitution of the United States he helped write."
Suggested reading for all - "The Libby Commutation: Coincidence, or Conspiracy?
by Thom Hartmann"
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/05/2299/
July 5th, 2007 at 2:31 pmThis is a great first step.
I don't think that censure is enough to pay for this administrations criminality, but it would be an excellent appetizer for a main course of impeachment and prosecution.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:33 pmget out your ruler and slap his little hand.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:34 pmplease, do something with teeth or stop pretending you tiny weasels
It won't happen, but if it did, Bush would turn toward the Hill, grab his crotch, and yell, "I got yer censure right here!!"
July 5th, 2007 at 2:38 pmThis is a step in the right direction. Anyone criticizing this move and making snide remarks is more than likely trying to stave off an honest discussion of impeachment proceedings. It's just a matter of time until Bush has to take responsibility for his unlawful actions.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:40 pmOh wow, another non-binding bill. Such courage as more troops die in an illegal war.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:42 pmCensure is a meaningless and empty gesture. It's equivalent to letting off a speeder with a warning. If the speeder was speeding accidentally, a warning might do some good. But if the speeder is a chronic and flagrant breaker of the law, a warning will have little impact.
There is nothing accidental about Chimpy's flouting of the laws of this country. "Warning" him via censure that his actions are unacceptable is pointless. He's just going to keep doing it for as long as Congress lets him get away with it.
Impeachment and subsequent prosecution is the only remedy for the cancer upon this nation that is Chimpy & Co..
July 5th, 2007 at 2:43 pmYou can't get me! wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!
July 5th, 2007 at 2:44 pmToo late for impeachment fools.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:44 pmNot a bad gesture, it'll be a good voting gauge for the impeachment proceedings to follow.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:54 pmCould we maybe slap his wrist, too? Or send him to bed without supper?
Comment by gah — July 5, 2007 @ 2:21 pm
Yeah, exactly... Censure? Big flipping deal. Bring on Impeachment...
July 5th, 2007 at 3:00 pmHey.... slap on the wrist it maybe, yet it is still a powerful and direct
July 5th, 2007 at 3:04 pmcondemnation.
If it passes, it will be a major step towards impeachment.
Raven sez:
Just how many more "steps toward impeachment" do we need? This administration has done more to destroy this country than all previous administrations combined.
If Chimpy escapes impeachment, it will be a signal to every president that follows, Repub, Dem, or whatever, that the Doctrine of the Unitary Executive has been tested and has survived. In short, we'll be back to a monarchy in this country...something our Founding Fathers sacrificed everything to free us from.
July 5th, 2007 at 3:11 pmI'd be for Impeaching GW, but Impeach Cheney 1st...
July 5th, 2007 at 3:13 pm"Just how many more “steps toward impeachment†do we need?"
Comment by TripMaster Monkey
I'm only tying to be positive, and do my own little bit of creative visualization.
July 5th, 2007 at 3:25 pmI agree the overwhelming corruption is staggering, yet it is a test of our system.
The tools are there to correct the situation, they just need to be used.
Every step at this point in time is essential, because it may be the greatest test to date.
And the next test will assuredly be even tougher.
Absolutely. We need to be discussing this more. Too many people are in the "let's wait it out camp." In fact, the most dangerous thing about this presidency could end up being the precedent it sets for the executive (i.e. Lincoln, FDR, etc.).
July 5th, 2007 at 3:36 pmI want to know who gave him the 250,000 pieces of silver.
July 5th, 2007 at 3:43 pmIf congress passed a resolution to pardon Libby would he once again be available for testimony?
July 5th, 2007 at 3:48 pmooops.. wrong one..
July 5th, 2007 at 3:49 pmI am TOTALLY for impeaching both Bush AND Cheney!! I agree, it has to be Cheney first. And I want to see him impeached, and then arrested on his way out the door. Then we get to see JUST how naked this emperor is..
Can't they do them both at the same time?? Especially so Bush can't COMMUTE or PARDON Cheney!! Is it physically possible for the President to pardon himself?? How would that work? I would imagine he can't, and that is probably why he bought that giant spread (100,000 acres) in Northern Paraguay where there is no extradition for political offenses (which strangely enough was put into place by Bill Clinton)..
it's a good idea, but since Republicants wouldn't even allow a censure of Gonzo, this is unlikely...
July 5th, 2007 at 4:30 pmCensure - yes
July 5th, 2007 at 5:44 pmImpeachment - yes, yes
Criminal trial - yes, yes, yes
Prison time - absolutely, positively yes!!
Line up as many as possible. Any time one more senator or representative abandons Bushie and gets on board any one of these would be a good thing. The more the merrier - and effective.
JG: "Northern Paraguay where there is no extradition for political offenses (which strangely enough was put into place by Bill Clinton).."
I think the new law in Paraquay which shields people within its borders from judgements by the World Court was enacted during the last 4 years.
July 5th, 2007 at 5:52 pmDoes censure include a noose custom fit for junior's pencil neck ?
If not, let's write it in.
July 5th, 2007 at 5:56 pmBy nullifying the prison sentence imposed by the judicial system upon libby for his crimes, bush has inserted himself into the investigation of his administration -- in other words he has obstructed justice himself and needs to be charged with that crime.
Any crime . . .
Come on, guys, impeach the bastard for something or other and then send him to the Hague to stand before the bar of justice he so disdains for the crimes he has imposed upon the Peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan, and those whom he has locked up in secret prisons.
July 5th, 2007 at 8:04 pmDon't censure! Impeach! Why waste all the energy trying to bring another meaningless resolution to a vote.
July 6th, 2007 at 1:17 amImpeach! Impeach! Impeach!
My congressman Robert Wexler takes no prisoners. He was there with us hear in Florida in November 2000 and has recently gotten Republican governor Charlie Crist to agree to change all of the election machines in the entire state so that we have a paper trail.
He is in his 6th term and has run un opposed twice. The Republicans have targeted $2 million to try to get him in nov 08. Can't wait. He is the best.
July 6th, 2007 at 7:42 pmWhy not beat him with a wet noodle. It will have the same effect. Don't just do something stand there ,Wexler. Waste of everyone's time and money as usual. How about bringing our troops home. More died today. Focus on the problem!!!!
July 8th, 2007 at 10:40 pm