[Sosfbay-discuss] Conyers: Impeachment "Under Active Consideration", McGovern: grounds stronger than for Nixon

[Drew Johnson]

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0711/S00262.htm
Impeachment “Under Active Consideration" - Conyers
Thursday, 15 November 2007, 11:02 pm
Article: Rosalea Barker
Impeachment Resolution "Under Active Consideration" By The Judiciary
Committee

Following a discussion on “War and the Fourth Estate”, held in the Ways
and Means Committee hearing room on Wednesday night, Rep. John Conyers -
Chair of the Judiciary Committee — said that the impeachment resolution
against Vice President Cheney is “under active consideration”. However, he
stopped short of giving any indication of a timeline, saying that he can’t
“telegraph” any information on what is “the most sensitive matter before
the nation”. His responses were in reply to questions asked by Scoop as he
was leaving the discussion venue.

During the discussion, which was organized by the Congressional Out of
Iraq caucus headed by Rep. Maxine Waters, former Senator George McGovern,
journalist Bob Woodward, and two other authors, Ron Suskind and Michael
Isikoff, were asked by Rep. Stephen Cohen if — politics aside — they
thought impeachment was warranted.

Isikoff, author of “Hubris”, suggested that Conyers should answer, but
gave no answer himself. Woodward passed on the question of impeachment and
said “there’s abundant evidence that it’s a legal war.” McGovern stated
that he didn’t think “the mood of the country would carry it very far, but
I do think misleading the Congress to get into the war is impeachable
.
The grounds for impeachment are stronger than the ones we had against
Nixon.” Suskind, author of “The One Percent Solution”, didn’t get the
opportunity to answer, as Rep. Waters tried to move along the discussion.

Conyers then said to the four panelists, “Why is it all but one of you
chose not even to speak to the issue? Every member up here is being
besieged by people demanding an impeachment action be begun,” adding that
“this is the subject that governs what happens in 2008. This is the
subject that people are coming to us asking ‘if they don’t apply now, when
will they ever apply?’”—meaning the impeachment provisions.

Woodward’s response was, “You’ve just fortified me in my resolve NOT to
answer. What is the job of a reporter? It is limited. It is not the job of
a reporter to make a judgment.” He pointed out that he didn’t do so even
during the Watergate investigations, instead presenting facts in a neutral
way, as is the job of a reporter. “To step out of that would be to cripple
us. We need independent inquiry. We have a very limited role in this.”

Isikoff said he agreed with everything Woodward said, but that “there’s a
lot we still don’t know.” On the question of whether it was a valid
subject to be reporting, he thought Yes. Suskind responded that “All of us
are trying to find the right line on the rule of law.” Earlier he said he
thought that politicians and officials no longer thought it was bad policy
to lie to a reporter, and that “you need to trust truth”.

The discussion had been announced last week, and tonight it coincided with
floor votes on whether to debate the Iraq supplemental (HR 4156) that ties
funding to troop withdrawal timelines, whether to pass an anti child
pornography measure, and the debate on HR 4156 itself. At one time during
the discussion, the only member of the House remaining in the committee
room asking questions of the four authors was Eleanor Norton Holmes, who
is the Washington DC Delegate to Congress. (Delegates are allowed to vote
in committees, but in the House can only vote on amendments, where their
votes are thrown out if they constitute the margin of victory.)

About twenty members of the public attended the event and the only daily
media presence beside Scoop was a Fox cameraman. Although held in a
committee room, it was not a formal committee hearing so was not recorded
by the House. It ended after 8 pm.

The 10pm vote in the House on the passage of HR 4156—which passed 218 to
203—is here:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll1108.xml

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rosalea.barker at gmail.com