Democrats are eyeing several parliamentary maneuvers to prod Congress into investigating the so-called Downing Street memo and other recently disclosed documents that they contend shows that the Bush administration manipulated prewar intelligence to build support for the war in Iraq.
Although any Democratic move will almost certainly fail in the face of vigorous Republican opposition, such maneuvers would constitute the first steps toward filing articles of impeachment, a bold step that some Democrats have left as an open question in recent weeks.
If you read the record of the writing of the Constitution, high crimes and misdemeanors had a very particular meaning at the time of the drafting of the Constitution. It certainly didnt mean lying about sex, but it might well mean lying to the Congress about a large public purpose such as Iraq, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said at a forum held by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) earlier this month, referring to the 1998 impeachment proceedings against then-President Bill Clinton.
Democrats and allied groups are mulling at least two options to spur an investigation.
Conyers met recently with representatives of a recently formed coalition of liberal groups, AfterDowningStreet.org, that is calling for a resolution-of-impeachment inquiry, which would direct the Judiciary Committee to launch a probe of the claims. Republicans filed such a resolution in 1998 to kick off their effort to remove Clinton from office.
We would like to see a member of Congress look into whether or not the president committed impeachable offenses, said John Bonifaz, a constitutional lawyer who co-founded the group. Weve been having that discussion with a number of offices.
But Conyers is reluctant to take such a bold step just yet. My inclination at this time is not to do something like that, Conyers said, although he noted that he wanted to press for an investigation in other ways, including sending committee investigators to London.
Conyers and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) are expected to give a special-orders speech on the Downing Street Memo on the floor tonight.
Still, other members may move forward with Conyers. My sense is other members are following [Conyerss] lead for now, a House Democratic aide said. However, the groups who are advocating for this may well lose patience with [Conyerss approach] and may seek another member to do this.
Another, lesser option being considered is a resolution of inquiry on the Downing Street memo. This less-drastic parliamentary maneuver would ask the administration to provide more information related to the claims.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), co-chairwoman of the Out of Iraq Caucus and a member of the International Affairs Committee, is circulating a letter calling for a resolution of inquiry. Employed from time to time by the minority, the resolution would be referred to the committee of jurisdiction, which would then have to vote it down in a set number of days or it would proceed to a floor vote.
Join me in co-sponsoring a Resolution of Inquiry to learn as the Downing Street memo indicates whether steps were being taken by the Bush administration to fix intelligence and facts between the two countries around a decision to go to war, Lee wrote to colleagues.
It is unclear if Democratic leaders will be on board. Jennifer Crider, spokeswoman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said, We havent seen the resolution of inquiry. We would have to see what they are asking for to make a determination.
Lees draft language does not mention impeachment, instead hewing in the direction of a letter Conyers sent to Bush on May 5 requesting more information on questions raised by the memo and other recently leaked documents, several sources said. More than 120 Democrats signed Conyerss letter.
Waters said she too was working on a response to the memo. I am working on something that I cant talk about right now, she said.
Democrats have considered steps leading toward impeachment before. Conyers met in 2003 with a Democratic lawyer and activist who were drafting articles of impeachment, but ultimately he took no action.
Democrats expressed varying levels of enthusiasm for steps that could ultimately lead to impeachment.
I think there ought to be a resolution of inquiry. I wouldnt do it on my own. Id want to do it with others and
without any illusions of it going anywhere, said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) Clearly the nation was misled. We need to find out why the nation was misled.
Impeach? I think thats a mistake, but there are factual questions to be answered, said Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.)
My position is I want to be at a point where the data is overwhelming, said Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) Were looking to have more hearings. We really want to turn this into official hearings of the respective committees.
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