Kucinich is pursuing Cheneyπs impeachment. Well let's help him out. Sacks and sacks of mail are about to
arrive in Dennis Kucinich's office initiating impeachment via the House of
Representative's own rules.
Kucinich says he is
building his case for impeachment, and is working to build the support of his
peers in Congress. He said he needs us to keep building the groundswell of
support for impeachment all over the country. He asks that we send him copies of
all the resolutions passed in various States, local Legislative Districts,
County Districts and of any petitions with signatures, so that he can present
them to the floor of the House. He
said he felt that our framing the issue of impeachment in terms of the
Constitution is a principled choice, and ultimately more effective than just
acting on anger. Here's video of
Kucinich addressing the impeachment issue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAIJyKhJhiM
Let's answer
Kucinich's call with a petition that has its precedent in history, and its
legitimacy in the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
This is much more than just a
petition. This is a way for individual citizens to initiate the impeachment
process themselves, directly.
There's a little known and rarely
used clause in the rules for the House of Representatives that sets forth the
various ways in which a Vice President can be impeached. Only the House
Judiciary Committee puts together the Articles of Impeachment, but before that
happens, someone has to initiate the
process.
That's where we come in. One of the
ways to get impeachment going is for individual citizens like you and I to
submit a memorial. ImpeachForPeace.org has created this new memorial based on
one that was successful in impeaching a federal official in the
past.
To find out more, check out:
http://ImpeachForPeace.org/ImpeachNow.html
To initiate impeachment, send one
letter to Impeach for Peace, and another to one or more of the following
representatives who were recommended by Rep. Keith Ellison. Rep. Ellison is on
the House Judiciary (the committee in charge of drawing up Articles of
Impeachment), and provided a list of fellow Judiciary members. With encouragement, Rep. Ellison
believes these representatives might support impeachment. Then, come July, to
make a big impact, weπre delivering all the letters weπve received on the same
date, and with cameras rolling.
Strategic Representatives to
whom to send this memorial:
|
Honorable
Dennis
J. Kucinich 14400
Detroit Avenue Lakewood,
Ohio 44107 | |
|
Honorable Linda T.
Sanchez 17906 Crusader Ave. Ste.
100 Cerritos, CA
90703 |
Honorable Jerrold
Nadler 201 Varick Street, Suite
669 New York, NY
10014 |
|
Honorable Howard L.
Berman 14546 Hamlin Street, Suite
202 Van Nuys, CA
91411 |
Honorable Zoe
Lofgren 635 N. First Street, Suite
B San Jose, CA
95112 |
Hereπs what to
do:
1. Print out two pages: the cover
letter and petition addressed to ≥Impeach for Peace.≤ Also print as many copies
of the last two pages in this document as you wish. These two pages are the cover letter
which you will address to various representatives listed above, and the
petition. Each envelope will
contain a cover letter and a petition.
2. Fill in all blank spots:
Ä Print your name/address in the
≥From:≤ boxes on the cover letters and petitions.
Ä Print your full name after ≥I,
_____≤ on the cover letters.
Ä Print your state after ≥State of
______≤ on the cover letters (For example: ≥Minnesota≤).
Ä Sign your name and write the
current date on the ≥Signature≤ line at the bottom of each of the cover letters.
Ä Write your full name after ≥The
petition of _____≤ on each of the petitions.
Ä Print your state after ≥State of
______≤ on the petitions (For example: ≥Minnesota≤).
Ä Print the representativesπ name and
address in each cover letterπs ≥To:≤ box.
Ä Print the representativesπ name in each
cover letterπs ≥Dear ________, ≥ line.
3. OPTIONAL: According to the chief
parliamentarian in the U.S. House of Representatives and his deputy, these
memorials do not need to be notarized. If youπd rather be on the safe side,
however, there are many local banks or workplaces that will notarize them at no
cost. There are also notaries in every law office. IMPORTANT: If you decide to get the
petitions notarized, wait to sign and date them until you are in the presence of
the notary. You can find a notary at: http://www.notaryrotary.com/agent/search.asp
However, do not let the
inconvenience of notarizing the memorials stop you from sending them. If you are
unlikely to go to this effort, or if you do not have a bank account and are
unwilling to pay to have them notarized (usually a very small fee if not free at
many businesses), then simply sign it and send it in. Notarization is probably
not necessary, and regardless, your document will help create political
pressure.
4. If youπve decided against getting
the document notarized, then sign and date the ≥Signature≤ line of the petitions
that have the bit about notarization on them.
5. Address envelopes with Impeach for
Peaceπs name/address and the name/address of the representatives (listed
above).
6. Write your return address on the
envelopes and put stamps on them.
7. Place the memorials and cover
letters in the appropriately addressed envelopes (and please consider including
a voluntary contribution to åImpeach for Peaceπ to help us with travel expenses
to Washington DC).
8. Email all your friends about
this!
9. Mail the envelopes today.
Petition: Cover
Letter
|
To: Impeach for Peace |
From (Name &
Address):
|
Dear Impeach for
Peace,
I, __________________, citizen of the State of _______________, and of
the United States, respectfully ask you to deliver on my behalf to the U.S.
House of Representatives a petition of memorial. In concordance with the Jefferson's
Manual section LIII, 603, which states that ≥impeachment may be set in motion by
charges preferred by a memorial, which is usually referred to a committee for
examination≤, I submit the enclosed petition for review by the House Judiciary
Committee regarding the impeachment of the Vice President of the United States.
Thank you in advance
for your assistance in this procedure.
Respectfully,
________________________________________________
Signature
Date:
Petition
|
|
From (Name &
Address):
|
To the Honorable House of
Representatives of the United States:
The petition of _____________________, a
citizen of the State of _________________, and of the United States,
respectfully showeth:
That, Jefferson's Manual section LIII,
603, states that impeachment may be set in motion by charges preferred by a
memorial, which is usually referred to a committee for examination;
and
The memorial goes on to set forth that,
Richard B. Cheney has intentionally misled the public regarding the threat from
Iraq in order to justify a war against Iraq, intentionally conspired with others
to defraud the United States in connection with the war against Iraq in
violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 371; and
The memorial goes on to set forth
that, Richard B. Cheney has conspired to commit the torture of prisoners in
violation of the "Federal Torture Act" Title 18 United States Code, Section
113C, the UN Torture Convention and the Geneva Convention, which under Article
VI of the Constitution are part of the "supreme Law of the Land";
and
The memorial goes on to set forth
that, Richard B. Cheney authorized the leaking classified national secrets to
further a political agenda, exposing an unknown number of covert U. S.
intelligence agents to potential harm and retribution;
The memorial goes on to set forth that,
In all of this Richard B. Cheney has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as
Vice President, subversive of constitutional government to the great prejudice
of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the
United States.
In conclusion the memoralist
says:
Having thus submitted to your honorable
body the facts of his case, your petitioner begs leave to observe that it
appears from those facts:
First. That the said Richard B. Cheney
has, in his capacity of Vice President of the United States, been guilty of
usurping a power which the laws of the land did not give
him.
Second. That said Richard B. Cheney has
exercised his power, be the same usurped or legitimate, to the detriment of
every citizen of the United States.
Wherefore, and inasmuch as the said
Richard B. Cheney has violated the most sacred and undoubted rights of the
inhabitants of these United States, your petitioner prays that the conduct and
proceedings in this behalf, of said Richard B. Cheney, may be inquired into by
your honorable body, and such decision made therein to impeach, to appoint
managers to conduct the impeachment trial in the Senate, and to inform the
Senate of these facts by resolution (Manual Sec. 607; Deschler Ch 14 Sec. 9) for
trial and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office
of honor, trust or profit under the United States;
And your petitioner, as in duty bound,
will pray.
____________________________________________________________________
Signature
Date
Print Name:
__________________________________
|
For Notarizing Only STATE OF
______________________
)
) SS: COUNTY OF
____________________
) SWORN TO and
subscribed in my presence this _______ day of ___________________,
20______.
___________________________________
Notary Public |
Petition: Cover
Letter
|
To:
|
From (Name &
Address):
|
Dear _____________________________,
I, __________________, citizen of the State of _______________, and of
the United States, respectfully ask your representation in the U.S. House of
Representatives through a petition of memorial. In concordance with the Jefferson's
Manual section LIII, 603, which states that ≥impeachment may be set in motion by
charges preferred by a memorial, which is usually referred to a committee for
examination≤, I submit the enclosed petition for review by the House Judiciary
Committee (for precedent see Hinds Sec. 2364, 2491, 2494) regarding the
impeachment of the Vice President of the United States.
For precedent, I refer
to the petition of Luke Edward Lawless, from March 30th, 1826 in regards to
impeaching Federal Judge James H. Peck.
Also, here are the
House rules that allow for the submission of the memorial (even from those not
in you constituency):
______________________________________________________________________
Congress House Rules
Manual -- Doc No. 108-241, Page 600-≥Petitions, memorials, and other papers
addressed to the House may be presented by the Speaker as well as by a Member
(IV, 3312). Petitions from the country at large are presented by the Speaker in
the manner prescribed by the rule (III, 2030; IV, 3318; VII, 1025). A
Member may present a petition from the people of a State other than his
own (IV, 3315, 3316). The
House itself may refer one portion of a petition to one committee and another
portion to another committee (IV, 3359, 3360), but ordinarily the reference of a
petition does not come before the House itself.≤
________________________________________________________________________
Thank you in advance
for your assistance in this procedure.
Respectfully,
________________________________________________
Signature
Date:
Petition
|
|
From (Name &
Address):
|
To the Honorable House of
Representatives of the United States:
The petition of _____________________, a
citizen of the State of _________________, and of the United States,
respectfully showeth:
That, Jefferson's Manual section LIII,
603, states that impeachment may be set in motion by charges preferred by a
memorial, which is usually referred to a committee for examination;
and
The memorial goes on to set forth that,
Richard B. Cheney has intentionally misled the public regarding the threat from
Iraq in order to justify a war against Iraq, intentionally conspired with others
to defraud the United States in connection with the war against Iraq in
violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 371; and
The memorial goes on to set forth
that, Richard B. Cheney has conspired to commit the torture of prisoners in
violation of the "Federal Torture Act" Title 18 United States Code, Section
113C, the UN Torture Convention and the Geneva Convention, which under Article
VI of the Constitution are part of the "supreme Law of the Land";
and
The memorial goes on to set forth
that, Richard B. Cheney authorized the leaking classified national secrets to
further a political agenda, exposing an unknown number of covert U. S.
intelligence agents to potential harm and retribution;
The memorial goes on to set forth that,
In all of this Richard B. Cheney has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as
Vice President, subversive of constitutional government to the great prejudice
of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the
United States.
In conclusion the memoralist
says:
Having thus submitted to your honorable
body the facts of his case, your petitioner begs leave to observe that it
appears from those facts:
First. That the said Richard B. Cheney
has, in his capacity of Vice President of the United States, been guilty of
usurping a power which the laws of the land did not give
him.
Second. That said Richard B. Cheney has
exercised his power, be the same usurped or legitimate, to the detriment of
every citizen of the United States.
Wherefore, and inasmuch as the said
Richard B. Cheney has violated the most sacred and undoubted rights of the
inhabitants of these United States, your petitioner prays that the conduct and
proceedings in this behalf, of said Richard B. Cheney, may be inquired into by
your honorable body, and such decision made therein to impeach, to appoint
managers to conduct the impeachment trial in the Senate, and to inform the
Senate of these facts by resolution (Manual Sec. 607; Deschler Ch 14 Sec. 9) for
trial and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office
of honor, trust or profit under the United States;
And your petitioner, as in duty bound,
will pray.
____________________________________________________________________
Signature
Date
Print Name:
__________________________________
|
For Notarizing Only STATE OF
______________________
)
) SS: COUNTY OF
____________________
) SWORN TO and
subscribed in my presence this _______ day of ___________________,
20______.
___________________________________
Notary Public |