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By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor and National Correspondent, Atlanta Progressive News (April 23, 2007)
(APN) ATLANTA — Today, US Rep. Dennis Kucinich introduced Articles
of Impeachment against Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney.
Kucinich did not limit the Articles to the issue of Iran; they also
include defrauding the public and Congress over the need to invade
Iraq. Prisoner torture, outing CIA agents, and illegal domestic
warrartless wiretapping were not included as reasons.
The main sections of the FULL TEXT of the bill as obtained by
Atlanta Progressive News are reprinted below. We redacted the
individual exhibits supporting various claims, as well as the "line
numbers" for flow. However, the files are available here as well:
http://kucinich.house.gov/UploadedFiles/int3.pdf
Impeaching Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Resolved, That Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United
States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the
following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States
Senate:
Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of
the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of
the United States of America, against Richard B. Cheney, Vice President
of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its
impeachment against him for high crimes and mis3 demeanors.
Article I
In his conduct while Vice President of the United States, Richard B.
Cheney, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute
the office of Vice President of the United States and, to the best of
his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the
United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care
that the laws be faithfully executed, has purposely manipulated the
intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United
States by fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to
justify the use of the United States Armed Forces against the nation of
Iraq in a manner damaging to our national security interests, to wit:
(1) Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Vice President
actively and systematically sought to deceive the citizens and Congress
of the United States about an alleged threat of Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction...
(2) Preceding the March 2003 invasion of Iraq 20 the Vice President
was fully informed that no legitimate evidence existed of weapons of
mass destruction in Iraq. The Vice President pressured the intelligence
community to change their findings to enable the deception of the
citizens and Congress of the United States.
(3) The Vice President’s actions corrupted or attempted to corrupt
the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, an intelligence document
issued on October 1, 2002 and carefully considered by Congress prior to
the October 10, 2002 vote to authorize the use of force. The Vice
President’s actions prevented the necessary reconciliation of facts for
the National Intelligence Estimate which resulted in a high number of
dissenting opinions from technical experts in two Federal agencies.
The Vice President subverted the national security interests of the
United States by setting the stage for the loss of more than 3300
United States service members; the loss of 650,000 Iraqi citizens since
the United States invasion; the loss of approximately $500 billion in
war costs which has increased our Federal debt; the loss of military
readiness within the United States Armed Services due to overextension,
lack of training and lack of equipment; the loss of United States
credibility in world affairs; and the decades of likely blowback
created by the invasion of Iraq. In all of this, Vice President Richard
B. Cheney has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as Vice
President, and subversive of constitutional government, to the
prejudice of the cause of law and justice and the manifest injury of
the people of the United States.Wherefore, Vice President Richard B.
Cheney, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting
removal from office.
Article II
In his conduct while Vice President of the United States, Richard B.
Cheney, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute
the office of Vice President of the United States and, to the best of
his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the
United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care
that the laws be faithfully executed, purposely manipulated the
intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United
States about an alleged relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda in order
to justify the use of the United States Armed Forces against the nation
of Iraq in a manner damaging to our national security interests, to wit:
(1) Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Vice President
actively and systematically sought to deceive the citizens and the
Congress of the United States about an alleged relationship between
Iraq and al Qaeda...
(2) Preceding the March 2003 invasion of Iraq the Vice President was
fully informed that no credible evidence existed of a working
relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda, a fact articulated in several
official documents, including...
Article III
In his conduct while Vice President of the United States, Richard B.
Cheney, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute
the office of Vice President of the United States and, to the best of
his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the
United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care
that the laws be faithfully executed, has openly threatened aggression
against the Republic of Iran absent any real threat to the United
States, and done so with the United States proven capability to carry
out such threats, thus undermining the national security of the United
States, to wit:
(1) Despite no evidence that Iran has the intention or the
capability of attacking the United States and despite the turmoil
created by United States invasion of Iraq, the Vice President has
openly threatened aggression against Iran as evidenced by the following:
(2) The Vice President, who repeatedly and falsely claimed to have
had specific, detailed knowledge of Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass
destruction capabilities, is no doubt fully aware of evidence that
demonstrates Iran poses no real threat to the United States as
evidenced by the following:
(3) The Vice President is fully aware of the actions taken by the
United States towards Iran that are further destabilizing the world as
evidenced by the following...
(4) In the last three years the Vice President has repeatedly
threatened Iran. However, the Vice President is legally bound by the
U.S Constitution’s adherence to international law that prohibits
threats of use of force...
Wherefore Richard B. Cheney, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
About the author:
Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor and National Correspondent for
Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at
matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com.
This article may be reprinted in full at no cost where Atlanta Progressive News is credited.
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