Gutierrez (D-Ill.) joins "Impeach Cheney" crowd

[babylonsister]

Gutierrez joins "Impeach Cheney" crowd

By Jim Tankersley

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) doesn't get confused with Dennis Kucinich very often. But now the veteran Chicago congressman and the quixotic Ohio presidential wannabe have something in common: a desire to boot the vice president from office.

Gutierrez and two of his colleagues on the House judiciary committee - Florida's Robert Wexler and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin - have penned an op-ed piece calling for committee hearings on a bill to impeact Dick Cheney on a variety of charges, including allegations of manipulating intelligence to boost the case for war with Iraq.

"The issues at hand are too serious to ignore, including credible allegations of abuse of power that if proven may well constitute high crimes and misdemeanors under our constitution," the op-ed says. "The charges against Vice President Cheney relate to his deceptive actions leading up to the Iraq war, the revelation of the identity of a covert agent for political retaliation, and the illegal wiretapping of American citizens."

House leaders - and the leading Democratic presidential candidates - have said they don't support impeachment, in part because they remember how President Clinton's impeachment proceedings ground Congress to a near standstill as they played out. Gutierrez and his committeemates disagree, saying hearings "need not tie up Congress for a year and shut down the nation."

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