[Iowa-dx] McKinney introduces articles of impeachment

[Wendy Barth]

"beginning the long road back to regaining the high standards of truth an=
d
democracy upon which our great country was founded."

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0113.html

MCKINNEY'S FULL REMARKS ON BUSH IMPEACHMENT BILL
By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor and National Correspondent (December 08=
,
2006)

US Rep. Cynthia McKinney today became the first US Congresswoman to intro=
duce
Articles of Impeachment against President Bush, as well as Vice President=

Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

Atlanta Progressive News has obtained the following remarks prepared by t=
he
Congresswoman, and has learned she was not allowed to read them on the US=

House Floor. The remarks are expected to become part of the Congressional=

Record but will not be available on thomas.loc.gov until next week.

The Congresswoman has scheduled an interview with APN for tomorrow to dis=
cuss
her legislation. Stay tuned here for more.

The remarks are reprinted here in full:

Mr. Speaker:

I come before this body today as a proud American and as a servant of the=

American people, sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

Throughout my tenure, I've always tried to speak the truth. It's that
commitment that brings me here today.

We have a President who has misgoverned and a Congress that has refused t=
o
hold him accountable. It is a grave situation and I believe the stakes fo=
r our
country are high.

No American is above the law, and if we allow a President to violate, at =
the
most basic and fundamental level, the trust of the people and then contin=
ue to
govern, without a process for holding him accountable, what does that say=

about our commitment to the truth? To the Constitution? To our democracy?=


The trust of the American people has been broken. And a process must be
undertaken to repair this trust. This process must begin with honesty and=

accountability.

Leading up to our invasion of Iraq, the American people supported this
Administration's actions because they believed in our President. They bel=
ieved
he was acting in good faith. They believed that American laws and America=
n
values would be respected. That in the weightiness of everything being
considered, two values were rock solid: trust and truth.

=46rom mushroom clouds to African yellow cake to aluminum tubes, the Amer=
ican
people and this Congress were not presented the facts, but rather were
presented a string of untruths, to justify the invasion of Iraq.

President Bush, along with Vice President Cheney and then-National Securi=
ty
Advisor Rice, portrayed to the Congress and to the American people that I=
raq
represented an imminent threat, culminating with President Bush's claim t=
hat
Iraq was six months away from developing a nuclear weapon. Having used fa=
lse
fear to buy consent, the President then took our country to war.

This has grave consequences for the health of our democracy, for our stan=
ding
with our allies, and most of all, for the lives of our men and women in t=
he
military and their families--who have been asked to make sacrifices--incl=
uding
the ultimate sacrifice--to keep us safe.

Just as we expect our leaders to be truthful, we expect them to abide by =
the
law and respect our courts and judges. Here again, the President failed t=
he
American people.

When President Bush signed an executive order authorizing unlawful spying=
 on
American citizens, he circumvented the courts, the law, and he violated t=
he
separation of powers provided by the Constitution. Once the program was
revealed, he then tried to hide the scope of his offense from the America=
n
people by making contradictory, untrue statements.

President George W. Bush has failed to preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution of the United States; he has failed to ensure that senior me=
mbers
of his administration do the same; and he has betrayed the trust of the
American people.

With a heavy heart and in the deepest spirit of patriotism, I exercise my=
 duty
and responsibility to speak truthfully about what is before us. To shy aw=
ay
from this responsibility would be easier. But I have not been one to trav=
el
the easy road. I believe in this country, and in the power of our democra=
cy. I
feel the steely conviction of one who will not let the country I love des=
cend
into shame; for the fabric of our democracy is at stake.

Some will call this a partisan vendetta, others will say this is an
unimportant distraction to the plans of the incoming Congress. But this i=
s not
about political gamesmanship.

I am not willing to put any political party before my principles.

This, instead, is about beginning the long road back to regaining the hig=
h
standards of truth and democracy upon which our great country was founded=
=2E

Mr. Speaker:

Under the standards set by the United States Constitution, President Bush=
,
along with Vice President Cheney, and Secretary of State Rice, should be
subject to the process of impeachment, and I have filed H. Res.1106 in th=
e
House of Representatives.

To my fellow Americans, as I leave this Congress, it is in your hands to =
hold
your representatives accountable, and to show those with the courage to s=
tand
for what is right, that they do not stand alone.

Thank you.

Stay tuned for a full APN interview with Rep. McKinney tomorrow.

About the author:

Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor of Atlanta Progressive News. He may =
be
reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com

Syndication policy:

This article may be reprinted in full at no cost where Atlanta Progressiv=
e
News is credited.