Bush Impeachment Resolution Introduced In Illinois

25 April 2006

BUSH IMPEACHMENT RESOLUTIONINTRODUCED Representative Yarborough, IllinoisState Legislature Introduces Bill Invokes Never UsedProvision from Thomas Jefferson s Rules Sunday 23,April 2006 By Michael Collins For "Scoop" IndependentMedia Washington, DC

Representative Karen A.Yarbrough, a Democratic member of the Illinois StateAssembly, introduced a resolution calling for theimpeachment of President George W. Bush. House Joint Resolution 125 wasintroduced on April 20, 2006 with two co sponsors,Representatives Sara Feigenholtz and Eddie Washington, alsoboth Democrats. Derided by Thomas Jefferson as "scarcely ascarecrow," the presidential impeachment process is a rarityin United States history. The impeachment of federal judgesis more common but also a rare event.

When invokedimpeachment charges have always originated in the House ofRepresentatives. After hearings, a vote is taken on eachcharge in the impeachment resolution. Given majorityapproval, a delegation from the House takes the case forimpeachment to the Senate for a formal trial. The ChiefJustice of the Supreme Court presides with House membersserving as prosecutors, the president s lawyers for thedefense, and the Senators as the jury. Only PresidentsAndrew Johnson and William Jefferson Clinton were impeachedby the House of Representatives. In both cases, Senatetrials failed to find them guilty of any charge.

Jefferson s Revenge

There is a little known set ofsupplementary rules for both the US Senate and House ofRepresentatives developed by Thomas Jefferson. Jeffersonwas clear on his opposition to centralized federal power andfrequently sought balances giving states greater libertiesand rights. Jefferson s rules, Section 603,state:

Inception of impeachmentproceedings in the House: there are various methods ofsetting an impeachment in motion: by charges made onthe floor on the responsibility of a Member or Delegate; bycharges preferred by a memorial, which is usually referredto a committee for examination; by a resolution dropped inthe hopper by a Member and referred to a committee; by amessage from the President; by charges transmitted fromthe legislature of a State or territory or from a grandjury "

The language in Jefferson sparliamentary guidelines is clear. State legislatures canset "an impeachment in motion" with a "Joint Resolution"approved by the legislature (both the state Senate andAssembly). No state has taken advantage of this provision. In fact, it is so obscure; the majority of Vermontlegislators who asked for impeachment did so in a formalletter to the House of Representatives rather than invokingJefferson s Rule 603.

Illinois Joint Resolution 125

Bushis charged with the following "high crimes and misdemeanors"in Representative Yarborough s resolution(summary): 1. Ordering the NationalSecurity Agency to spy on American citizens without awarrant (a "felony"). 2. Violating the Torture Conventionof the Geneva Conventions, "a treaty regarded as supreme lawby the United States Constitution;" 3. Holding Americanand other citizens as "prisoners of war without a charge ortrial; 4. Manipulating intelligence to start the Iraqwar "resulting in the deaths of large numbers of Iraqicivilians and causing the United States to incur loss oflife, diminished security and billions of dollars inunnecessary expenses; and, 5. Leaking "classifiednational secrets to further a political agenda" thusexposing U.S. agents "to potential harm and retributionwhile simultaneously refusing to potential harm andretribution while simultaneously refusing to investigate thematter."

Noting that the Republicancontrolled Congress failed to investigate the matter, theresolution invokes the powers under Section 603 of theJefferson rules. The resolution reaches its summary byarguing that:

"the State of Illinoishas good cause to submit charges to the U. S. House ofRepresentatives under Section 603 that the President of theUnited States has willfully violated his Oath of Office topreserve protect and defend the Constitution of the UnitedStates; and be it further

RESOLVED, That George W.Bush, if found guilty of the charges contained herein,should be removed from office and disqualified to hold anyother office in the UnitedStates.

Each of these charges is agrave violation of the oath of office and some of themrepresent potential criminal charges against President Bushshould he be impeached. The proposed action is unusual sinceit has two parts. Bush would both removed from office and"disqualified to hold any other office."

Impeachment ofa president or other federal office holder allows only forremoval from office. Further financial penalties, jailtime, etc. are optional for the president after he isremoved from office. There is an ongoing debate over theability of prosecutors to indict a sitting president. Although the language of the Constitution seems to allowthis, there are points of tradition and interpretation usedto argue against the practice.

Flight of Fancy orEmerging Reality

Bush s popularity ratings have takena nose for the past two years. The only point that heapproached 50% was on Election Day 2004. For months priorto that day and subsequently, his popularity has trendeddownward. His most recent approval rating was only 33% asmeasured by the sympathetic Fox News public opinion poll. His disapproval rating is in the 60% range in almost allpolls. Nearly two out of every three Americans stronglydisapprove of Bush. State by state polling shows only fourstates in which Bush has an approval rating over 50%.

Despite this, the Democratic congressional delegation hasbeen reluctant to even mention impeachment as a strategy. When Senator Russell Feingold, Democrat, Minnesota,introduced a Censure Resolution, he was criticized byRepublicans and also some members of his own party. At thispoint, the bill proposed in Illinois has stimulated nocomments from leaders of either party. Should the jointresolution pass, there is little doubt a major controversywill ensue.

Illinois is a state dominated by theDemocratic Party. Democratic presidential candidatescarried the state by 60% margins in the last two elections. The governor and the legislature are controlled by theDemocrats. At this time, the likelihood of passage isunknown. Coverage has been almost exclusively on internet blogs and one nationalopinion magazine, The Nation, in an article by JohnNichols.

The Illinois ResolutionSponsors

(Left to right) IllinoisState Assembly Representatives Karen Yarborough, sponsor;Sara Feigenholtz and Eddie Washington, co-sponsors. AllDemocrats, the three representatives are from the Chicagoarea.

Karen Yarborough is from a politicalfamily. Her husband holds political office in their hometown, Maywood. She is a "third generation entrepreneur," asshe describes herself and owns an insurance agency. Feigenholtz is a political and community activist form thenorth side of Chicago. Washington served in localgovernment and as head of a regional Urban League chapterprior to his election in 2003. The three are all active inserving their constituents and not known as ideologues. Their action on April 20th will place them front and centerin one of the greatest ideological struggles in Americanhistory. Should Illinois pass on the resolution, this novelstory may emerge into a national issue of graveimportance.

END
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