Holte's corner: Impeach Gonzales

August 01, 2007

Impeach Gonzales

http://tinyurl.com/2remlg
and;
http://tinyurl.com/3372sr

The constitution prescribes that when there is evidence of wrong doing in the Executive, that the Legislature, specifically the House, has the duty to act as if it were a grand jury, and vote articles of impeachment. There is evidence of massive wrong doing by the Federal Government aimed at our individual liberties. Congress is investigating this. If the House finds that there is sufficient evidence for further action, and if obstruction of justice is found to be occurring then it has no choice but to vote articles of impeachment so that a proper trial can be conducted by the Senate and the actual guilt or innocence of the offenders be determined.

Gonzales is claiming that there are super secret programs http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/
which are so secret that even the courts or our congress are not privy to them, all of which ignore the constitution and violate standing law by executive order.

And he knows what he is doing:
http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/07/30/update-on-bushs-illegal-spying/
"The controversy over the Bush Administration’s illegal surveillance of Americans and the Attorney General’s role in concealing it became more intense over the weekend. Much of the focus was on the side show of whether Attorney General Gonzales did or did not mislead or lie to Congress when he claimed there was never any significant disagreement over the “program the President has confirmed.” But the “underlying crime,” which the Administration keeps trying to sweep under the rug, is and always has been the illegal spying on Americans. And bit by bit, the Administration has been forced to concede it engaged in these crimes for years."

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/03/271/
http://impeachgonzales.com/2007/05/

This information has been "out there" but unpursued by those responsible for protecting our liberties -- for years now.

http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/NSA/

"In 2002 the President issued an Executive Order authorizing the National Security Agency (NSA) to wiretap phone and email communications involving United States persons within the U.S., without obtaining a warrant or court order pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA), which prohibits unauthorized electronic surveillance."

"EFF believes the program violates the Fourth Amendment, FISA, the Wiretap Act, and most likely the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Moreover, it is neither authorized nor justified by the Constitutional power of the executive. EFF is investigating the legal and factual bases for litigation to stop this illegal program, and urges its members to contact their Congressional representatives to get to the bottom of the program and ask their telecommunications providers about any collaboration."

If this doesn't call for impeachment I don't know what does. The administration is not going to accept any compromise. They believe what they are doing is legal. And we cannot even be sure that the Supreme Court would take up this case unless prodded to by new laws.

Leahy: Gonzales Must Clarify Statements

"By HOPE YEN The Associated Press Sunday, July 29, 2007; 3:39 PM

"WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales must quickly clarify
apparent contradictions in his testimony about warrantless spying or
risk a possible perjury investigation, the chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee said Sunday."

"This is going to have a devastating effect on law enforcement
throughout the country if it's not cleared up," said Sen. Patrick
Leahy, D-Vt."

....

"On Sunday, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on
Leahy's committee, made clear that he believed the Justice Department
would be better off without Gonzales. But he said it would be
premature to begin a perjury investigation until the committee could
find out the facts."

Gonzales is not going to appoint a special prosecutor. The House has
only one constitutionally applicable course. It has to seek evidence,
and then vote articles of impeachment.

additional articles:
http://tinyurl.com/39dte2
http://tinyurl.com/ypgy3k

Some like John Dean have been trying to do something about it:

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20070724.html
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/07-31-2007/d4e00018c635e209.html

John Dean was astonished (back in 2005 when this material first came out):
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20051230.html

Of course he's been a prophet yelling into the wind. He warned about
military tribunals and the direction the Exec. was headed back in 2001:
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20011207.html

But, I've been practicing my advocacy skills here long enough to know
by now, that as long as the government doesn't threaten to raise some
people's taxes they can do just about anything. All the talk about
liberty just devolves to a selfish desire to avoid paying taxes or
being held to the same standards as other people.

I met one fellow who told me how his father was a self-declared
libertarian -- except in his house which he ruled as a tyrant.
Liberty was for him and him alone in practice -- for everyone else
there ought to be severe rules.

Things really haven't changed. John Dean writes:
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20070724.html
"Republicans like to boast of their hard-nosed, no-nonsense beliefs
about law and order. Their motto is, 'Do the crime, do the time.'
However, President Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence of 30 months
in jail again has showed how authoritarian conservatives want the
world to 'Do as we say, not as we do.'"

John Stewart: http://tinyurl.com/3ytr28

It almost happened before:
http://tinyurl.com/yqsomy
Abuse at the national level reflects abusiveness at the local level:
http://tinyurl.com/2pegfu