Not being able to find a transcript of the July 12 House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law (Miers no-show) this is the transcript I made from the hearing. (follows)
Then I read an item from July 17 that says that Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) forced Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) to retract, "the President lied" or face a reprimand:
Nevertheless, Watt - who joked around with Cannon before the hearing - withdrew his words in a deal with Cannon, who agreed not to seek a procedural reprimand of Watt that would deny him the right to speak in committee or on the floor the rest of the day. (follows)
WTF?
House Judiciary
Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law
Hearing on the Attorneys' Firing Continuing Controversy
July 12, 2007
Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC):
this president has abused the presumtive privilege
this is the same president who told me he was going to be a different kind of president and renegged on that promise
vice president cheney... I presume he is claiming this privilege also... claiming he is not in the executive branch
he's the same president who lied to Congress and the American people about the reasons for going to war
the president who has put people into jail without even bringing any charges against them and rendered them to other countries for questioning
the same president that exposed the cia agents by revealing their identities and then turned around and pardoned the person who lied about whether he had justification for doing that or his reasons for doing that
he's the same president who declared victory on an aircraft carrier while still in the midst of a war
this is a president who i have trouble giving any presumptions to anymore and i believe the american people are having trouble giving him any more presumptions
i cannot accept the standards of the last six years of oversight of this president. we have a responsibility to oversee the conduct of this president and the president is still sticking his thumb in our eye and saying that he still has some privilege
Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT)
madam chair...
these words are unparliamentary
he's called the president a liar, he's talking about the president sticking his thumb in the eye of the people... i believe that is unparliamentary language and ask that his words be stricken down
rep watt
i think the american people know what we're dealing with.. an imperial president who thinks that he's above the law and we have a responsibility to the american people and to the president that he's not above the law
cannon
these are unparliamentary words
watt
these are not unparliamentary words
cannon
i am reluctant to do this.. we have rules of decorum in congress... a member may refer to political motives of the president, however personal criticism, inuendo, ridicule, or terms of aprobrium are not in order
Chairwoman Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
the chair believes the gentleman's words, although harsh, are not unparliamentary
cannon
i insist the gentleman's words be taken down
sanchez
the words were not unparliamentary
motion to vote on the words being parliamentary
voice vote
yeas have it with one resounding Nay from Cannon, who calls for a recorded vote
recorded vote
16-5
the motion to overturn the ruling of the chair fails
the words are ruled parliamentary
House Judiciary Subcmte. Hearing on the Firing of U.S. Attorneys
rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/atty/atty071207_judiciary.rm
CSpan from 1:00
Demo withdraws charge that Bush lied about war after Rep. Cannon objects
By Thomas Burr
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 07/18/2007 06:29:04 AM MDT
During a congressional hearing last week, Cannon, R-Utah, objected to the statement by Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., charging that Bush lied to get the country into the war in Iraq.
Last week, Cannon charged that Watt be reprimanded for calling the president a liar with a procedural move that would block him from speaking in committee or on the floor the rest of the day.
"He's called the president a liar," Cannon said, according to a transcript. "He's talked about the president sticking his thumb in the eye of people. I believe that is unparliamentary language and ask that his words be taken down."
Nevertheless, Watt - who joked around with Cannon before the hearing - withdrew his words in a deal with Cannon, who agreed not to seek a procedural reprimand of Watt that would deny him the right to speak in committee or on the floor the rest of the day.