Impeach!
You know it is going to be a good day when one of your bosses tells you about the good news and exclaims "Impeach! Impeach!" (check out the graphic if you are unfamiliar with the events). So, today's lesson is one of impeachment.
Under Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." Article III, Section 3 defines treason: "shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses (Wilson and now Libby) to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court." Logically, we are in a War on Terror (yes, that is an actual government website), and so far two witnesses have pointed at the President of the United States as someone who leaked classified information which aided the enemies of said war. It seems to me that this is a logical inevitability.
Simplified, this is a two step process. First, the House of Representatives (who hold the sole power of impeachment) must pass articles of impeachment with a simple majority vote. Then, the Senate tries the accused party - for simplification, let's just say it's Dubya himself. Normally, the Vice President would preside over the Senate - however, the penguin must step aside in this case for a less invested party: the president pro tempore, Ted Stevens. Yes, the same Senator Stevens who desperately wanted to club baby seals and sacrifice baby penguins to the oil gods. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about this. So, assuming the process escalates to this level, chances are slim the President will actually be convicted - especially with a Republican majority.
So, lets imagine that Dubya admits he has been wrong and resigns. You might ask, who would be next? The order of succession, in the current administration, goes as follows:
By the way, I'll be making some changes to the look of the site - leave a comment and let me know what you think.
pushing through the market square, so many mothers sighing
news had just come over, we had five years left to cry in
news guy wept and told us, earth was really dying
Five Years by David Bowie
Under Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." Article III, Section 3 defines treason: "shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses (Wilson and now Libby) to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court." Logically, we are in a War on Terror (yes, that is an actual government website), and so far two witnesses have pointed at the President of the United States as someone who leaked classified information which aided the enemies of said war. It seems to me that this is a logical inevitability.
Simplified, this is a two step process. First, the House of Representatives (who hold the sole power of impeachment) must pass articles of impeachment with a simple majority vote. Then, the Senate tries the accused party - for simplification, let's just say it's Dubya himself. Normally, the Vice President would preside over the Senate - however, the penguin must step aside in this case for a less invested party: the president pro tempore, Ted Stevens. Yes, the same Senator Stevens who desperately wanted to club baby seals and sacrifice baby penguins to the oil gods. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about this. So, assuming the process escalates to this level, chances are slim the President will actually be convicted - especially with a Republican majority.
So, lets imagine that Dubya admits he has been wrong and resigns. You might ask, who would be next? The order of succession, in the current administration, goes as follows:
- Vice President Dick Cheney (who permitted Libby to leak "relevant portions")
- Speaker of the House John Dennis Hastert
- President pro tempore of the Senate Ted Stevens
- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
- Secretary of the Treasury John Snow
- Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld (the terror mastermind behind color-coding)
- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
- ...the list goes on...
By the way, I'll be making some changes to the look of the site - leave a comment and let me know what you think.
pushing through the market square, so many mothers sighing
news had just come over, we had five years left to cry in
news guy wept and told us, earth was really dying
Five Years by David Bowie
posted by GreenLibrarian at 12:28 AM
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