Hot time in Congress and Rangle files for impeachment of Rumsfeld

Democrats in the House are calling for Rumsfeld to step down, or face impeachment. I wanted to find a video of the argument on the discussion of torture in Iraq, but it is apparently unavailable at this time. Below are video links two realted items, and a link to the impeachment document that Charles Rangle of NY filed. The full text of Rangle's impeachment speech is in the extended entry.

Links to Congressional Statements
Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) & John Murtha (D-PA) on Iraq & the U.S. Treatment of Iraqi Prisoners (05/06/2004)

Congressional Black Caucus on Iraq & U.S. Treatment of Iraqi Prisoners (05/06/2004)

Rangle's Call for the impeachment of Donald Rumsfeld - To see full text "expand to read more

CONGRESSMAN CHARLES B. RANGEL
Press Releases

U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515 CONTACT: Emile Milne
(202) 225-4365



CONG. RANGEL CALLS ON
CONGRESS TO IMPEACH
DEFENSE SECRETARY RUMSFELD

Korean War Combat Veteran says withholding information from the President, Congress, and the public, about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners is a “high crime and misdemeanor”

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2004 -- Cong. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), a member of Congress since 1971 and a Korean war combat veteran, today called for the impeachment of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld unless he resigns or President Bush removes him from office.

He announced he was drafting articles of impeachment and made the following remarks on the House floor during the debate on a House resolution concerning the torture of Iraqi prisoners:

“This is a very difficult time for me. I find it difficult to rise in opposition to this Resolution. I do it because there just does not seem to be enough outrage involved with what is being said.

“We should not have to apologize for our brave men and women. We should not have to apologize for what the Executive Branch or the Congress has or has not done. We should not be put in this position!

“Several months ago, I called for the resignation of the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, because I thought that, as a major architect of this war, he was fighting this war with other people's children. And when Rumsfeld said he did not know whether we were winning or losing the war; when he said he did not know if we were creating more terrorists than we were killing; when he said that we had no plan to end the war and that it was a slog - I, as a former combat veteran, thought: Is this the kind leadership that we can expect from the Secretary of Defense?

“America and the Military deserve better than this. He should resign. And now the information we receive is that a climate has been created where a handful of people have committed these atrocities against humankind. In an atmosphere where all of the people in Iraq have been demonized; where it appears to Americans and to our military that the people in Iraq are responsible for September 11 and causing us pain; where Secretary Rumsfeld did have information months ago on these atrocities and kept it from the President, kept it from the Congress, and kept it from the American people - I think that this rises to the point that it is a high crime and misdemeanor if he disappointed the President, kept information from the Congress and kept this information from the American people.

“I think America and the world want us to show the outrage not with rhetoric but with action! And, if the President does not fire Secretary Rumsfeld, or if he does not resign, I think it is the responsibility of this Congress to file articles of impeachment and force him to out of office. Then, the whole world will know - not just the military - not just Americans, but the whole world will know what we stand for!

“If people can say 'mission accomplished' when it looks like there is victory, and then we see atrocities like this and it happens on someone's watch; if they do not have the dignity to say I am sorry and move on - then, we have the responsibility under our Constitution to remove these people from office.

“He kept the information away from Congress. We have the responsibility for oversight and to prepare the Articles of Impeachment today.”

Congressman Rangel originally introduced a resolution calling for the resignation of Secretary Rumsfeld on November 7, 2003.

Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the U.S. House of Representatives “the sole Power of Impeachment.” Article II, Section 4 allows for the impeachment of “all civil Officers of the United States.” So far, only one cabinet member has been impeached. In 1876, Secretary of War William Worth Belknap was impeached for bribery. Belknap later resigned.

Posted by rowan at May 6, 2004 7:58 PM | TrackBack | [eMail this article!] |