Posted at 11:10 AM ET, 06/11/2008
Impeachment Vote Set for This Afternoon
The House is set to vote this afternoon on whether to refer articles of impeachment against President Bush to the Judiciary Committee, where they are unlikely to see any further action during this Congress.
The impeachment resolution -- accusing Bush of manufacturing a case for war in Iraq, among other charges -- was introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) on Monday. Kucinich himself read all 35 articles into the Congressional Record on the House floor that night, a process that took nearly five hours. The second reading, which is required under House rules, was performed by House reading clerks on Tuesday night. In both cases, the readings kept the chamber in session past midnight.
The office of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) says this afternoon's vote to send the resolution to Judiciary is expected to occur around 4 p.m. EDT, though there is a small chance the vote could happen closer to 1 p.m., when the chamber will be voting on an Amtrak bill.
Democratic leaders have made clear that they have no desire to impeach Bush, nor do they want the Judiciary panel to hold hearings on Kucinich's measure. Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) has so far not commented on his plans, though the resolution has picked up one cosponsor: Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), a Judiciary member.
"A decision by Congress to pursue impeachment is not an option, it is a sworn duty," Wexler said. "It is time for Congress to stand up and defend the Constitution against the blatant violations and illegalities of this administration."
Posted by Ben Pershing
Source: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/?hpid=moreheadlines