Impeachment Moves Forward in Olympia

Tonight, the Citizens' Movement to Impeach Bush/Cheney were joined by about 40 supporters to ask the Olympia City Council to pass a resolution calling for an investigation to launch impeachment proceedings for President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

George Hartwell, the spokesperson for the group, stated, "We do not believe it is an exaggeration to say that our government has been taken over by a clique of extremists in Washington, DC who are bent on shredding the Constitution and our democracy."

In three short months, the Citizens' Movement collected over 2,000 signatures in support of an impeachment investigation. He presented a draft resolution for consideration and action, stating the President and Vice President:
§ Justified the war in Iraq using fraudulent evidence
§ Dismissed civil liberties and tortured prisoners
§ Performed illegal wiretapping of citizens
§ Refused to obey more than 750 laws by using "signing statements"

These four actions are the basis for an investigation. The signed resolution would be sent to the House of Representative, which has the authority to begin an impeachment investigation. A copy of the resolution and a briefing paper were presented to the City Council.

Councilmember Laura Ware responded by asking the Council to consider making the Washington Center available to this group to hold a town hall meeting with the Congressional Representatives for this area.

"We have the facilities and can help you empower yourselves,"
she said. Mayor Foutch said the Citizens' Movement could work out the details with the staff and Ware then suggested that the Assistant City Manager meet briefly with the group after the meeting to begin the process. The Mayor turned his attention to the resolution itself. He said the next step would be to send the resolution to the Government Committee to review the text and see if the Committee can recommend the resolution to the City Council. George Harwell expressed his appreciation for these actions and the room burst into applause.

Outside the City Chambers, the Citizens' Movement were energized at the prospect of convening a town meeting to talk about impeachment.

View the video of the November 14th presentation before the City
Council:
http://olympia.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/11/349260.shtml