OpEdNews » Conyers Says He's on Edge of Starting Impeachment

February 7, 2008 at 22:41:10

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Conyers Says He's on Edge of Starting Impeachment

by David Swanson Page 1 of 1 page(s)

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On Thursday, Chairman John Conyers' House Judiciary Committee held a hearing at which Attorney General Michael Mukasey said that he would not investigate torture (video) or warrantless spying (video), he would not enforce contempt citations (video), and he would treat Justice Department opinions as providing immunity for crimes (report).

None of this was new, but perhaps it touched something in Conyers that had not been touched before. Following the hearing, he and two staffers met for an hour and 15 minutes with two members of Code Pink to discuss impeachment.

Conyers expressed fear of what might happen following an impeachment, fear of installing a Bush replacement or losing an election. The "corporate power structure", he said, would not allow impeachment without unleashing "blowback." Conyers told Ellen Taylor and Manijeh Saba: "You need to be more than brave and courageous. You need to be smart."

Their response? They are asking people who care about justice to help them let Conyers know that the smart thing right now would be bravery and courage.

On Rosa Parks' birthday last week, Leslie Angeline began a fast for impeachment. Taylor and over 20 other activists have joined the fast. Conyers has agreed to meet with Angeline to discuss impeachment on Tuesday.

The Chairman told Taylor and Saba that he is listening to several advocates for impeachment, including Liz Holtzman and this author, and asked "So how would it look if I allowed two women to push me over the edge?" Conyers leaned out of his chair for dramatic effect.

A number of organizations will be sending their members this alert Monday morning:

Let's push Conyers over the edge by flooding his office with phone calls, faxes, and Emails on Monday and Tuesday. Let him know that only impeachment hearings
1-will make it on TV,
2-will force compliance with subpoenas by eliminating "executive privilege",
3-will hold brazen criminals accountable, and
4-will convince voters that Democrats care about the Constitution.
Call 202-225-5126
Fax 202-225-0072
Email john.conyers@mail.house.gov

Angeline, whose father was on the original Freedom Riders bus that was firebombed in Anniston, Ala., in 1961 began her fast and a sit-in in Conyers' office on Rosa Parks' birthday, and within a few minutes had been granted an appointment with Conyers for Thursday. He postponed it until Tuesday because of the duration of the Mukasey hearing. Taylor, Saba, and others attended the hearing and were told by Conyers' staffer Therise West that they would be removed by force if they did not cover up shirts and pins with messages including "No Torture," "Arrest Bush," "Not One More," and even the text of Article II Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. Rather than comply, Taylor and Saba wore shirts displaying that section of the Constitution, were not removed, and were granted the meeting with Conyers to discuss it.

The meeting took place in the rooms attached to the committee room. After an hour delay, Conyers came in with three beers, a bag of nuts, and two staffers. Nobody drank the beers. Conyers ate the nuts. The staffers were Perry Appelbaum, who left early, and George Slover.

As Taylor recounted it to me, she and Saba pushed Conyers on the importance of the Constitution, on the crisis it faces, and on Congress's lack of action. Of course, Conyers wrote a book two years ago called "The Constitution in Crisis," which details many of Bush and Cheney's impeachable offenses.

Conyers' initial reply was along the lines of "Didn't you see the hearing we just had? Do you know how many people saw that?" To their credit, the two Code Pink women replied "Not very many, since most people don't get C-Span." Conyers said he would keep following up with Mukasey, but Taylor and Saba asked to what end he would do so and advised him to shift his focus to the executive.

Conyers, Taylor said, then began giving reasons why he was afraid of impeachment. That wasn't the word he used, but Taylor understood his concerns to all be expressions of an inchoate fear. Conyers spoke of "potential ramifications that haven't been examined." Interestingly, among his concerns was not the one he has used a lot recently, namely that impeachment would not pass the House. Instead he was concerned about what might happen after a successful impeachment and removal from office. Of course, the inconsistency in the excuses Conyers uses could simply be a reflection of the lack of importance he places on the choice of excuse.

The two women argued for the wisdom, bravery, and courage of Congressman Robert Wexler's proposal to simply begin impeachment hearings on Dick Cheney and see where they go. The impeachment movement is urging people not only to contact Conyers but also to ask their own representatives to sign onto a letter Wexler has written to Conyers, and to themselves sign Wexler's petition at http://wexlerwantshearings.com

Conyers said that he knew all about Wexler's idea and that he was listening to various impeachment advocates. The two names Taylor remembered him mentioning were mine and Holtzman's. He's certainly not listening closely to me, and I would love to meet with him at his convenience. Holtzman, I know, has wanted to meet with Conyers on this topic for quite some time, but to my knowledge has never been able to do so.

I think the people Conyers is really listening to are too smart for their own good but lacking a bit in the bravery and courage area. Their wise strategy places the outcome of elections ahead of preserving the democracy in which those elections are held or even the verifiability of those elections. And, on their own terms, they are probably wrong. Nothing (except perhaps hand-counted paper ballots) would benefit the Democrats in the next election more than a real fight to stand up for justice. If Congress chooses to cede all power to the White House and move to the back of the bus, Conyers' legacy will not be what it might have been.

Take action -- click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people:
Impeachment Hearings Now

Click here to see the most recent messages sent to congressional reps and local newspapers

David Swanson is the author of the upcoming book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" by Seven Stories Press and of the introduction to "The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. (more...)

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The Constitution in Crisis: The High Crimes of the Bush Administration and a Blueprint for Impeachment
by John C. Conyers Jr.

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12 comments

George Washington

This

might be hot air by Conyers. But if one of the leading impeachment advocates, David Swanson, says Conyers might do it, let's all nudge Conyers to do it!!!

By the way, for anyone who hasn't spent time reading essays by Rob Kall, David Swanson, and other leading impeachment advocates about why impeachment is so important, start by reading these:

Here are a couple of the many reasons to impeach:

by George Washington (188 articles, 27 quicklinks, 189 diaries, 219 comments [17 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Feb 7, 2008 at 11:08:46 PM

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George Washington

Reply: ...

http://georgewashington.blogspot.com/2006/02/all-roads-lead-to-dick-cheney.html

http://www.georgewashington.blogspot.com/2005/11/911-lies-another-basis-for-impeachment.html

by George Washington (188 articles, 27 quicklinks, 189 diaries, 219 comments [17 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Feb 7, 2008 at 11:10:35 PM

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George Washington

And please

vote up on Reddit and Digg! That is the best way to help this story go viral!

by George Washington (188 articles, 27 quicklinks, 189 diaries, 219 comments [17 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Feb 7, 2008 at 11:13:09 PM

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Irvthom

Conyers is playing some kind of game

Nobody really knows the reason why Conyers balks. After watching him maintain his cryptic silence with Rob the other day, implying that he had sufficient reasons for holding back . . . though refusing to say what they might be, I have to conclude that he is playing a careful game of avoidance.

Sure, he has to look like he is seriously open to input, but it looks to me like it's all a sham. Has he lost his nerve? Is he under some kind of absolute commitment to 'stay open' but stay clear of anything more than talk? We don't know, and we're not going to get anywhere with him until we find out.

What does he gain by waiting? -- that's the key question if anyone is going to figure out what's really going on, here. And why is it so important to him to insist that he, himself, makes the decision? What's that all about, after he clearly did a 180-degree turn from his earlier determination when Nancy uttered her magical words?

Why don't we stop playing games with this, and directly ask him what is really going on?

by Irvthom (7 articles, 2 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 91 comments) on Friday, Feb 8, 2008 at 2:39:48 AM

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truthtruffle

Beer?

I think they should proceed, without the beer. Kucinich took it to the judiciary, what are the findings? What are the findings? Grounds for impeachment, or no? Facts on the table, not sentimentalism. Was the war based on a profit-driven domestic deception or no? 2 trillion dollars out the window....that much is for sure, no shortage of people trying to shovel money out of the federal coffers...LARGE sums of money...build a personal fortune making buttons for the government...or building tanks...or just suing for damages...but, where's the honor, where's the ethics, where's the public accountability? Is there really any such thing in the day and age of career government lobbyists? Was the Iraq war really even unavoidable? I say, 'proceed'. Even if it does not go to the Senate, it's a matter of due diligence and procedure. There have to be quite a number of legal officials that can break down the details to help advise in the making of such decisions...decades, if not centuries, of accumulated experience, people that can decipher things like laws of war, the authorization for the war, the question is, 'do they have the collective willpower to see it through'?

Either the war was right, or the war was wrong, if it was wrong, they need to discover why it was let go forward, was it deception, was it fraud, was it incompetence, were members of Congress basically coerced? Which parties have profited the most by this entire thing, banks, businesses, bomb factories etc?

The ball is in their court, will they swing, will they whiff, time will tell...

by truthtruffle (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 111 comments) on Friday, Feb 8, 2008 at 3:00:35 AM

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erik mouse

I have a terrible sinking feeling

I have this feeling that we are too late. Not specificaly on impeachment though I would have prefered to see impeachment pursued on Feb 1st 2001. I'm talking about , well , everything. Many environmental scientist are now saying we are way past the point of no return on climate change and our only recourse is to responsibly prepare the population for a huge change in their very way of life. The US ecomomy is showing signs of a impending total calapse. We are still like the rest of the developing world are hopelessly addicted to oil. This will likely cause the united states to be in a constant state of war indefinately. Other countries Russia and China will eventually run out of paciants with the US. There are probably several other pending crisis' I'm forgetting at the moment, oh wait, monsanto, healthcare, prisons. You get the point. Meanwhile we have Peter Jennings saying things like 'how do we prevent a resession?' or 'is climate change real?' Hello? dipshit? This johnny come lately crap to subdue the masses will only make the impact worse. We are american citizens, not frightened kittens with leaky bladders. We NEED the truth. Had we had it 8 years ago maybe we would be better off today. As for me, I'm cashing out my bank accounts, buying as much silver as I can, and dusting off my passport.

by erik mouse (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 106 comments) on Friday, Feb 8, 2008 at 9:44:11 AM

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Mr M

The BIG Question

The big question is why, after all the numerous reasons to impeach, we haven't seen real movement to do so by those that have the power to implement it. Why after Rep. Conyers had written a book on impeaching this president he now cowers behind statements you can see he himself doesn’t believe. How can, Rep. Waxman stand before a group of citizens and say without apparent shame that investigating steroid use in baseball is more important than allowing Sibel Edmonds to testify about treason committed by high government officials in an on-going criminal enterprise. There has to be an explanation beyond mere run-of-the-mill corruption and incompetence. What I'm about to propose is extraordinary and fraught with conspiracy but when you take it all into context it adds up.

I've noticed over the past seven years when those of influence would go into a meeting with Bush&co, after which they would come out and start singing the praises of those they went to condemn. It was puzzling to say the least and would conjure-up dark thoughts of blackmail or something even more sinister. It's the more sinister part we're about to explore.

To wit, what we have now is not a functioning government or government at all, but an on-going full-blown criminal organization of staggering proportions, with unlimited money, power and influence. It crosses all boundaries and cultures, and encompasses criminal elements of so-called intelligence agencies, corrupt governments of other nations, mega-international corporations, bankers and old world money. The only function of this organization is to do what all criminal organizations do and that's to take the resources of the many and place them into the hands of the few by using all means of persuasion, murder, extortion, intimidation and threat to achieve their goal are applied and much more. They are not to govern, but to destroy and if you should stand in their way they have the full force of the deadliest weapons ever devised along with the people to employ there use behind them. We can start with 9/11. We could start with the 2000 election, or even go back generations, but 9/11 did indeed change everything. Let’s assume that 9/11 was an inside job. I’m not going to go into arguing the case that it was, but for the sake of argument let’s assume that it was a “false flag” black-ops operation orchestrated and executed with in-your-face bravado by a handful of strategically placed operatives. One of its effects is to inflict “shock and awe” intimidation. The shock of accepting this is enough in itself to intimidate anyone. I've heard it on more than one occasion where someone would say, "Well if that's true, than all is really lost." And indeed that's the premise. Put yourself in this situation. Say you have a grievance and were influential enough to present it to the powers that be. You're taken into a room and you’re brazenly confronted with all the evidence of 9/11. Who was behind it, how it was pulled off, how the media is manipulated, influence over the justice system, and how investigations are stymied and controlled -- enough to make the extent of the criminal organization make your blood run cold. What would you do? What could you do? Knowing this organization has the power to commit mass murder in broad daylight and get away with it, what would you do? Next they would use Sen. Paul Wellstone's mysterious plane crash that killed him and his family as an example of what could happen to you if you bucked the organization, along with the Anthrax sent as warnings to Senators Tom Dashle and Patrick Leahy, which was traced back to a U. S. military base, before its investigation was abruptly stopped, by then Attorney General Ashcroft, wouldn't that be enough to have you stand down? Knowing that if you walked out the door you couldn’t trust normal channels of authority for fear of them being compromised and that if you dared go public it could all go for naught and your family would be put in mortal danger regardless. But if you did what you were told, you and yours would come to no harm and instead flourish and be “protected”. What would you do? Now look at all the lame excuses given for not touching anyone in this organization -- do they make sense? Do you really believe steroid use in baseball is more important than investigating the sale of nuclear weaponry to terrorist organizations, or the people that say this tripe believe what they’re saying? Do they really believe we’re that stupid? Are they? Who has been held accountable? Save for one greedy lobbyist and a few low-lying politicians whose crimes were so obvious they could not be ignored and didn't affect those in the organization no one from the higher echelon of the organization has been touched. What has been the effect of any of the investigations so far? Who's been held accountable for ignoring subpoenas or destroying evidence? If you or I committed the above, would we be running around free, giving speeches, offered high-paying consulting jobs or lobbying for the companies you were suppose to be regulating when if office or to continue in our jobs or in many cases promoted? This organization didn't spring up overnight. One could make an argument that it's been around for generations by tracing organizations such as Skull & Bones, Bilderberg Group, Tri-Lateral Commission, PNAC and a host of other groups, corporations, agencies and families both rich and/or royal. This criminal organization has reached its zenith and is now so entrenched as to be near impossible to eradicate through normal means, but rather requires a total uprising and revolution. If what I propose is real, what recourse does we the people have? If powerful people can’t effect change and are brought to their knees, if we know that we have no say in who leads us and that our votes are simply for show, that our petitions are less than worthless and indeed make us targets instead, that there’s going to be no one person, or party, or authority, or media figure to bring justice - who do we turn to? Thomas Jefferson said, "The tree of liberty must be nourished from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." I submit - that time is long pass due. http://www.opednews.com:80/thoreau1203_wellstone_assassinated.htm

by Mr M (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 66 diaries, 2845 comments [654 recommended, 27 rejected]) on Friday, Feb 8, 2008 at 9:54:55 AM

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Daniel Geery

Reply: You connect a great many dots...

ones that anyone with half a brain should likewise be connecting.

I had read a fair amount on Wellstone, including the "official report," and found what seemed like gaping holes. The article referenced here is riviting, and includes events that need explaining. When a fairly specific "prediction" comes to pass, the level of confidence surely rises a notch; when several events take place in anticipation of a future event, and the future event happens, confidence in the theory should rise by an order of magnitude.

You have offered a remarkably viable explanation for Conyers strange and inconsistent behavior.

A real question I think we need to start asking--if we haven't already--is this: Is it worth living if this is how things are going to be? And if not, what should one do about it?

by Daniel Geery (26 articles, 95 quicklinks, 126 diaries, 912 comments [26 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Feb 8, 2008 at 10:38:06 AM

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boomerang

And Then There Is Common Sense to Contemplate

Don't forget Kucinich's brother's untimely/timely demise!

Those who "would be" threatened ought to all "retire" en mass. Leave the wrecking crew standing there in their dirty underpants. It is quisling behavior and dishonorable to quick-step in a charade.

by boomerang (0 articles, 7 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 556 comments [215 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Friday, Feb 8, 2008 at 10:20:55 AM

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alan k

The King Has No Clothes -- impeach now

The "removal" of any and all anti-war or even questioning candidates has left America in a fait accompii: No one running for the highest office from either major party, is recognizing even the possibility of crimes against our Constitution and distorting the rule of law, foreign or domestic (see "The election is over -- and America lost") by the current Regime. So, for enthralled Ameicans from now 'til November, the naked King Remains Fully Clothed. Our awareness of daily atrocities and crimes steadily erased.

THAT is why part of any Resistance we mount needs the ability to clearly show who STILL WANTS an end to illegal wars, torture, spying, lying. A Green Party registration says that. Can you think of another public clear registration of your values, that also uses political leverage to put the Congress under pressure to act?

This is an eminently useful political tool, and we need to use all we can get at this time.

A great move of tens of thousands to Green registration might be enough to sway some Congress people on Impeachment. Letters and even VOTES have shown to be insufficient. "Vote" with your registration.

See American Blackout to understand what really happened to steal the vote in 2000 and 2004: the crimes of DOING it and those of doing nothing about it in subsequent years.

One thing you can be sure of there will be a voice of reason and action from now through November with whatever Green candidate emerges. One with your voice and your values. We need a new Narrative, one that does not hide nor flinch from the truth.

It makes sense at this time to support Green Party growth -- no matter what your ultimate plans are for the voting booth. SOMEONE has to be telling the true story along the way, and Greens will do it. Grow that voice. Donate, Participate. Help keep, not just hope (insufficient without action), but sanity and reality alive.

Only supporting the Clinton/Obama melodrama, skirts Reality, buys into a phony corporate narrative (of great America with a few problems) only adds to the obfuscation. DO NOT participate in that deceptive model, without working to grow real opposition and resistance.

by alan k (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 36 comments [6 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Feb 8, 2008 at 1:45:24 PM

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Mark A. Goldman

Useless

If members of Congress are not outraged by the murder, deceit, illegitimacy of the Bush regime enough to be inspired to act to protect the Constitution, then there is no reason to even talk to them. By keeping the lines of communication open, they are only delaying long enough to make it too late for citizens to do anything about this treason. We should be seeking new candidates who are qualified and ready to replace every member of Congress and we should be prepared to vote for them. All this talk is a waste of time. We should be organizing for real change and stop wasting time.

http://www.gpln.com

by Mark A. Goldman (81 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 243 comments) on Friday, Feb 8, 2008 at 1:49:19 PM

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RICHARD SHADE

NO VOICE

WE THE PEOPLE HAVE NO VICE ANYMORE OR MAYBE NEVER DID, JUST LOOK AT THIS ELECTION, DID ANYONE OUT THERE PICK HILLARY, OBAMA, MC-CAIN, TO BE OUR ONLY CHOICE FOR PRESIDENT. ALL THE CANDIDATES THAT WE THE PEOPLE NEW COULD HAVE MADE A CHANGE ARE OUT BY THE MASS MEDIA DECEPTION, AND THE ELITE POWER AND CONTROL. AND CONYERS IS JUST PART OF CLUB, OR IS IN FEAR, REMEMBERING OCT 2001 ANTHRAX SCARE, AND KNOWS THAT THERE ARE NO LIMITS TO WHAT THE NEOCONS WILL GO TO SAY IN POWER. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE WE ARE SCREWED. THE CFR, GLOBAL AGENDA IS ON TRACK, AND OUR VOICES AMOUNT DICK.

by RICHARD SHADE (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 460 comments) on Sunday, Feb 10, 2008 at 4:48:09 AM

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