Democrats.com is proud to be a founding member of this outstanding coalition, along with some of the best groups on and off the Internet. Here is our press release - please forward it far and wide!
For Immediate Release: May 26, 2005
Democrats.com Demands Congressional Inquiry into Bush's Iraq War Lies
Democrats.com and a coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups announced a campaign today to urge Congress to launch a formal investigation into whether President Bush committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war. The campaign focuses on evidence that recently emerged in the minutes of a secret July 2002 meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his top national security officials.
According to Democrats.com President Bob Fertik, "Congress must immediately begin a full investigation of the lies told by George W. Bush to justify his criminal invasion of Iraq. Bush's lies have cost America the lives of 1,650 of our bravest young men and women, along with $300 billion in debt - and this war could continue forever.
"Tom DeLay and the Republican majority in Congress loudly proclaim themselves 'pro-life,' but their war has murdered an estimated 100,000 innocent Iraqis, including thousands of infants," Fertik added. "It is time for Congress to hold George Bush accountable for his lies to Congress, the American people, and the world. We urge Rep. John Conyers and all House Democrats to introduce the Resolution of Inquiry proposed by John Bonifaz."
Bonifaz, a Boston attorney specializing in constitutional litigation, sent a memo to Congressman John Conyers of Michigan, the Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, urging him to introduce a Resolution of Inquiry directing the House Judiciary Committee to launch a formal investigation into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House to impeach President Bush.
Bonifaz's memo, made available today at www.AfterDowningStreet.org, begins: "The recent release of the Downing Street Memo provides new and compelling evidence that the President of the United States has been actively engaged in a conspiracy to deceive and mislead the United States Congress and the American people about the basis for going to war against Iraq. If true, such conduct constitutes a High Crime under Article II, Section 4 of the United States Constitution."
In February and March 2003, John Bonifaz served as lead counsel for a coalition of United States soldiers, parents of U.S. soldiers, and Members of Congress (led by Representatives John Conyers, Jr. and Dennis Kucinich) in a federal lawsuit challenging President George W. Bush's authority to wage war against Iraq absent a congressional declaration of war or equivalent action. Bonifaz is the author of Warrior-King: The Case for Impeaching George W. Bush (NationBooks-NY, 2004, foreword by Rep. John Conyers, Jr.), which chronicles that case and its meaning for the United States Constitution.
The organizations forming the AfterDowningStreet.org coalition include: Democrats.com, Global Exchange, Gold Star Families for Peace, Veterans for Peace, Code Pink, Progressive Democrats of America, and Democracy Rising. These organizations, beginning today, will be urging their members to contact their Representatives to urge support of a Resolution of Inquiry.
