Caring deeply about the impeachment issues and along with hundreds of thousands of other Americans who wrote to their congress people, I wrote to Representative Inslee. Representative Inslee wrote me back and I was so proud that he is standing with the impeachment issues as well as others, such as the attorney firings and FISA issues as well. Thank-you Representaive Inslee for caring about the issues when so many of your own party seem to think they cannot walk and chew gum at the same time and do not support impeachment because, "it would take too much time and energy."
Congressman Inslee and a few other sharp legislators know if we held these hearings, it would bring out the information that needs to be aired and perhaps become a major campaign issue. Then the next president can take issue with the previous administration's actions that appear treasonous.
THANK-YOU REPRESTNTAIVE INSLEE FOR STANDING WITH TRUTH!
I am posting Representative Inslee's letter without further comment below the fold:
Dear Ms. Sullivan:
Thank you for contacting me regarding impeachment of the President and members of his administration. I appreciate hearing from you.
As you know, H.Res. 333, the resolution to impeach Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors has been introduced in the House of Representatives and is now being considered in the House Judiciary Committee. Under this resolution, the Vice President stands accused of manipulating intelligence regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and openly threatening aggression against Iran.
You will be pleased to know that I voted against the motion to table the bill. The bill was subsequently referred to the House Judiciary Committee where Chairman Conyers (D - MI) now may choose to consider this issue in his committee, the same path through which all previous impeachment inquiries have followed.
In the past, I have strongly opposed this administration's incompetent and damaging polices. I voted against the authorization for this president to invade Iraq, even though the measure at the time was popular. Since that vote, I have stood up to President Bush on every turn during his misguided adventure in Iraq. While I am not a member of the House Judiciary Committee, please rest assured I will continue to be vigilant in the protection of our civil liberties and constitutional rights.
In addition to voting against this war from the start, I support full congressional investigations into all aspects of the Iraq War and other legally questionable acts of the administration. I believe the American people deserve answers about the use of prewar intelligence, and Congress must do its job of oversight and investigation on this and the slew of other outrages.
You will be pleased to know that, after carefully considering the importance of maintaining a fair, credible and responsible Department of Justice, several of my colleagues and I introduced H.Res. 589, directing the Committee on the Judiciary to investigate whether Alberto R. Gonzales, former Attorney General of the United States, should be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. Before introducing my resolution, I discussed this matter with Constitutional scholars and became troubled by facts that have been slowly revealed to Congress and the American public implicating the Alberto Gonzales in these violations. As a last resort to uncover the truth behind these allegations, I felt that pursing an impeachment investigation was necessary.
I am pleased to say that, due to this sort of consistent pressure from Members of Congress, Alberto Gonzales has since resigned from his position as Attorney General of the United States, effective September 17, 2007. It is unfortunate that it took pressure from all points of the compass before this leadership change was finally made at the Department of Justice. Never again should the judicial process become a tool of the political operations at the White House. Despite his resignation, I, along with my colleagues in Congress will continue to investigate this Administration's efforts to force the resignation of federal prosecutors as well as the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens.
I introduced H.Res. 589 before Congress in response to the former Attorney General’s involvement in the politicization of the US Attorney’s Office, evidence of repeated violations of Americans’ right to privacy and multiple instances of failure by Alberto Gonzales to answer truthfully to questions posed by Congress. The following evidence has led me to this conclusion:
• In December 2006, a Justice Department official authorized the firing of at least eight federal prosecutors. Although the former Attorney General claims to have only approved their termination on the basis of poor performance, in fact, Justice Department performance evaluations of the US attorneys have proved to be overwhelmingly positive. In our own State of Washington, there are indications that District Attorney John McKay was forced to resign in part due to his failure to pursue non-meritorious vote fraud charges that would have impacted the outcome of the 2004 Washington Governors Race.
• It has come to light that Alberto Gonzales has made numerous misleading statements regarding the firing of these attorneys. After taking steps to avoid sworn testimony, the former Attorney General assured the Senate Judiciary Committee that he was unaware of the plan to fire the US Attorneys. Later, testimony by Kyle Sampson, Gonzales' former Chief of Staff, revealed that the former Attorney General was not being truthful. This insincere behavior is compounded by previous dishonest comments made by Gonzales to Congress in order to minimize his role in the NSA warrantless surveillance program. In sworn testimony, Gonzales initially claimed that there had been no disagreements on the legality of the NSA wiretapping program and that there "had not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse." Emails uncovered by the FBI have since revealed that this is not the case. Furthermore, he has been charged with pressuring former Attorney General John Ashcroft to reauthorize the warrantless wiretapping program.
• This Administration has continually refused to fully comply with House and Senate investigations. Without the full cooperation of the administration in this investigation, there will continue to be reason to doubt the legitimacy of the former Attorney General's claims.
As an attorney and former prosecutor and now as a member of the US Congress, I take the responsibility of defending the US Constitution in this nation very seriously. The American public must have faith in the justice system and the chief law enforcement officer of the nation. In order to restore this faith, we need to hold the Administration accountable.
The integrity and credibility of the Department of Justice must be restored. Our federal prosecutors must remain free to enforce our laws without the influence of political gain. As I continue to investigate the indiscretion of the former Attorney General, I will work to bring to light these and other transgressions by this administration.
Please continue to contact me about the issues that concern you, as I both need and welcome your thoughts and ideas. As a service to my constituents, I maintain a website which contains valuable resources and information on Congressional activities. Please feel free to visit the website at http://www.house.gov/... for information on recent issues and to learn more about the services my office provides.
I encourage you to contact me via email, telephone, or fax, because security measures are causing House offices to experience delays in receiving postal mail. My email address is: Jay.Inslee@mail.house.gov. Please be sure to include your full name and address, including your zip code, in your message.
Very truly yours,
JAY INSLEE
Member of Congress
JRI/ml