Bush Impeachment Inquiry

30 Congressmen & women of the US House of Representatives have signed on as sponsors or co-sponsors of H. Res 635, which would create a Select Committee to look into the grounds for recommending President Bush’s impeachment…

[…] Conyers’s bill was initially referred to the US House Rules Committee, which has not taken action. None of the US House Democrats on the Rules Committee have signed on as co-sponsors. The Ranking Democrat on the Committee is US Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY). Democratic members of the Committee are Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Doris Matsui (D-CA), and James McGovern (D-MA). Republicans currently outnumber Democrats on the committee by about a two-to-one ratio.

The US House Rules Committee would need to take action on H. Res 635 because it calls for the creation of a Select Committee, in other words the creation of a new committee that is not a standing committee, Jonathan Godfrey, Communications Director for US Rep. Conyers, told Atlanta Progressive News. Such a Committee would need to be staffed, Godfrey noted. […] - Read the rest at: Source

And, just so you know what the Resolution says…

H.RES.635
Title: Creating a select committee to investigate the Administration’s intent to go to war before congressional authorization, manipulation of pre-war intelligence, encouraging and countenancing torture, retaliating against critics, and to make recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment.
Sponsor: Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] (introduced 12/18/2005) Cosponsors (29)
Latest Major Action: 12/18/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Rules.

I’ve contacted Representative Louise Slaughter via her contact form at her blog, asking for clarification. I’m not certain what the strategy / plan is on the part of the Democrats, but it certainly seems like a good idea to sign on as a co-sponsor to Rep. Conyers’ resolution. On the other hand, since they don’t have the majority in either house of Congress, it could be that many of them deem it prudent to wait until after the November elections in hopes that they can retake the majority in one or both houses of Congress.

I know I’ve written to my Rep. (Stupak) about it quite a while back (no response!), and I don’t see his name on there either, although I don’t really expect him to sign on because he seems more conservative than liberal and doesn’t seem to be willing to act in ways that will rock the boat (although it’s sorely needed). H.Res 635, however, does not address the recently discovered issue of warrantless surveillance of Americans, so it might be best to re-introduce this resolution in the next session with that included in the language of the resolution.

Interestingly enough, the lone Independent in the House, Rep. Bernard Sanders (VT) has just signed on as a co-sponsor (as of 09Mar2006), following the recent multiple city/town resolutions within the State of Vermont supporting the impeachment of the president. So, perhaps that is what is needed to get these Representatives to act?

By the way, if you (U.S. citizens) wish to sign on as a Citizen co-sponsor to Rep. Conyers’ H.Res.635, you can do so here. Over 42,000 people have signed on as Citizen Cosponsors of House Resolution 635. More information regarding H.Res.635 and information about the Investigative Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff by John Conyers, which is now published as a book, The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Coverups in the Iraq War published by Chicago Academy Publishers, which may be purchased here. There is also a free online version of the Report (273 pages) located here in .pdf format (Adobe Acrobat Reader™ required).