July 30, 2007
Rep. Inslee To Push For Gonzales Impeachment Tomorrow
Washington Democrat Jay Inslee plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Tuesday, House sources confirmed.
The move comes one day after the New York Times editorial board urged Congress to consider impeaching the nation's top cop if lawmakers continue to hit a dead end in their effort to cast light on a spate of U.S. attorney firings last year as well as internal DOJ strife over warrantless surveillance.
It was not clear whether Inslee consulted with the Democratic leadership. A spokeswoman for the House Judiciary Committee said she could not comment on the impeachment push, and calls to Inslee's and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's offices were not immediately returned.
Shortly after taking control of Congress, Pelosi said that impeachment of President Bush was "off the table." While a move to impeach Bush would surely be divisive, ugly and ultimately unsuccessful, Gonzales has managed to become even more unpopular in the Beltway than The Decider. The bipartisan calls for Gonzales to step down are deafening, yet he has refused to resign and Bush has refused to give him the boot.
Republicans believe Bush is letting his longtime loyalty to Gonzales eclipse his administrative sensibilities. Gonzales has been trotted to the Hill a number of times to be told to his face that he's a liar who isn't qualified to be AG.
The House needs only a simple majority to impeach Gonzales -- an entirely probable scenario. In order to convict, or expel, Gonzales, a two-thirds vote is required in the Senate. That's a little trickier to predict, but judging by the AG's performance on the Hill last week, certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
Bush has used vetoes to stymie every congressional effort to change course in Iraq and increase funding for embryonic stem cell research. He would not be able to reverse a congressional impeachment of a Cabinet member, however.
Impeaching Gonzales would not only hand Bush a major professional failure -- the removal of the nation's first Latino attorney general -- but could actually hit the infamously loyal president where he lives. Bush has barely flinched at the constantly swelling tidal wave of anger and outrage directed at him. The forced removal of Gonzales could be the first blow that he actually feels.
Posted at 6:02 PM
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Alberto Gonzales, Attorney Scandal, Bush Administration, Congress, House, President Bush
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