Customer Reviews

Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush

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While the title announces the obvious bias of the writers, this work is not an attempt at Bush-bashing. On the contrary, the authors present a dispassionate list of four articles and specifications against George W. Bush for high crimes and misdemeanors.

In layman's language, the authors make a compelling case for recommending impeachment of our president. They compile their reasons as one would expect to hear them argued in a court of law. The book provides the reader with background information on where impeachment came from, what the founding fathers thought of the concept, and how it should be applied.

The most disturbing parts of this short book is the list of specifications against the president based upon what he has allowed or ordered to happen: unlawful detentions of American citizens, kidnappings, torture, and constitutional abuse by changing the law and the balance of power within our republic by adding "signing statements." The book explains clearly the constitutional limitations on presidential power that is currently being ignored. The specifications do not sound like anything I would have imagined in America, or what it means to be an American.

Our president took an oath to faithfully execute the office of the president and preserve, protect and defend the constitution. After reading this, you may have your doubts.

I recommend this for everyone.

Regardless of which political party you identify with, I urge you to read this short but critical text. At 144 pages, most readers will digest this little tome in one day, undoubtedly fascinated and persuaded by its core arguments.

The book conveniently chronicles the major legal blunders and human rights offenses perpetrated by the Bush Administration including: illegal indefinite detention of US and international citizens without allowing them legal counsel; condoning of torture; illegal wire-tapping and pre-emptive warfare. Arguments could also be made that the Administration is guilty of violating myriad environmental laws.

I'm proud to see that this book has turned out to be legally astute, logical and comprehensive. The authors avoid ad hominem attacks on the president's character, and instead focus on his actions, his violations and some similarities to Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.

The arguments are cogently written and easy to follow even for lay readers like me who are not legal scholars.

It's important to remember that impeachment is a two-part process. Put simply, the impeachment from the House is basically the investigation, accusation or pre-trial stage. No removal from office occurs at this point. Next, the Senate acts as judge and jury, examining the details and removing the accused from office if the incriminating evidence is clear and persuasive enough. (The book covers the process in more eloquent detail.)

It is of paramount importance to use this governmental tool called impeachment to show our citizens and the rest of the world that we are indeed concerned and outraged by subversion of the U.S. Constitution and international law.

Demanding accountability from our government leaders is the ultimate patriotic duty. We can show our support for the USA by demonstrating that we will not tolerate Bush's affront to our country's laws.

Voting is the very least we can do as citizens in a representative democracy. American citizens ought to be more actively communicating to our representatives that the entire nation is willing to act as a checking and balancing network for the three branches of government.

It may turn out that Congress doesn't agree with the Center for Constitutional Rights, and that the Senate will acquit the charges, leaving George W. Bush in power. Regardless of the verdict, we should still make the effort to investigate the history of accusations and evidence made against the president. If we neglect this opportunity, then we become indirect advocates of the Administration's policies. Remember that silence and inaction about presidential misconduct are tantamount to complicity.

If the Democrats win the Congress back in the mid-term (2006) elections, there will be a better chance of impeaching, trying and removing the president from office. Until then, we need to research and prepare for what will prove to be a long and tiring struggle to bring a corrupt administration to justice.

This is a serious book for serious times. I urge all who read this book to buy a copy for their House Representatives, which can be done for a discounted [...] from the Center for Constitutional Rights website (www.CCR-NY.org).

I have been skeptical of this "impeachment" talk since I first it heard it publicly muttered. However, as disaster after disaster has happened under Bush's watch, I couldn't simply ignore the impeachment banter. So, it was with some reservation that I picked up this book written by the Center for Constitutional Rights.

I was apprehensive about reading it not just because of the subject, but also the typical inaccesible writing style of attorneys. However, I found this book and the arguments laid out, easy to digest and after careful reading - easy to agree with.

The Center for Constitutional Rights' arguments are thoughtful, pragmatic, and - I actually have to say - necessary. I can only hope that there will be some Senators with guts enough to take the stand before things get any worse.

A tutorial of Constitutional basics (the question of impeachment can be considered ancillary) well-written, focused, deliberate, succinct, & easy-to-read. It is written in the context of a Bush impeachment but also in the context of others who have faced impeachment: Andrew Johnson, Nixon, & Clinton. It avoids Us-Them and focuses on Principles. Its purpose appears honorable, and I am motivated with desire to read a defense of similar quality.

I am reminded of how our government was designed so that democracy could work, and I am reminded of the fragility & vulnerabilities of democracy. Tocqueville (current reading) clearly attributes the success of democracy in America to separation of powers. Thus, the question becomes that of separation of powers in times of conflict. Above all, I am reminded of Our Responsibilities (Democracy means Us).

Regardless of politics, this book should be read by everyone. I bought mine directly from the Center for Constitutional Rights. I came to Amazon to buy more for distribution to my friends (free shipping if I get at least 3). If you know of a well-written defense, please chase me down. I want to read it.

The Center for Constitutional Rights, a non-profit organization (founded in 1966 by civil rights attorneys working in the South) dedicated to protecting the citizen rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has produced a vital, easy-to-read compendium of the dereliction of George W Bush, including a trenchant four-page introduction by William Goodman, legal director of CCR. By the formulating of four articles of impeachment, Bush's crimes come quickly into full relief, even to the basest kind of awareness of the daily events we are living through, providing along the way a surprisingly broad picture of the degredation of a nation brought low by an ignorant, bullying president, complicit corporate media, and the pathetic, even terrifying, witlessness of a society near-mystically obsessed by acquisition and consumption. Other reviews here have adequately detailed the impeachment articles. Nearly fifty pages of appendices include excerpts from the Constitution on impeachment, a useful history of impeachment, the Articles of Impeachment against Andrew Johnson, Nixon and Clinton, and pertinent notes on procedure. Finally, the book offers an extremely useful one-page webliography with links to information germane to a deeper understanding of the book's thesis. Recommended to every fellow citizen. Stop consuming! Wake up! Start reading, start thinking! Take action! WE are the nation, a power greater than any thug president, and certainly a people capable of repudiating the gross bandit who seeks day by day to diminish our birthright. The time is NOW! Also recommended is Elizabeth Holtzman's excellent 'The Impeachment of George W Bush: A Practical Guide for Concerned Citizens'.

Refreshingly, this book is not a hot-headed attack on George Bush. It is a straightforward discussion of the facts -- things that Bush has done on the record measured against the law and the Constitution. The article that discusses the President's use of electronic surveillance, for instance, is a remarkably sober breakdown of the relevant laws and precedents to an action the President has publicly admitted to doing. It is fascinating, highly readable despite being legalistic, and with the depth and lack of hype and spin so sorely missing from most media discussion. In fact, I wish the media would read this and use it as a handbook to an informed discussion of the particular issues. The book is concise (it doesn't go off into an unprovable array of charges but seems to pick just the most solid case). It also includes a very interesting appendix explaining the rules of impeachment as well as the previous articles of impeachment brought against Andrew Johnson, Nixon and Clinton. In comparison, these charges seem perhaps the most serious. A powerful book.

I got this book for myself on Amazon but then I learned if you go to the publisher's website they will send one to your congressman for you and they will pay the postage, so I did that, too. Highly recommended. This book really spells it out, and makes clear that, like Nixon, whatever you think of Bush personally, his infractions against the Constitution are clear. It also makes clear what can be done about it.

Even if there were enough time left to impeach the head of the current regime in Washington, it would probably not make any lasting changes in the conduct of the U.S. government nor change the minds of the many people who support it. To speak of impeachment is therefore more of a catharsis to those who dislike the current regime. However, the fact remains that there has been much discussion in the legal community, especially in the area of constitutional law, concerning the evidence for impeachment of G.W. Bush. A few books have appeared that address the case, this one being one of the shortest on the market. It is interesting reading and avoids the temptation to engage in the negative diatribe that frequently surrounds discussion of the legality of the actions and of the morality of the current regime. It is doubtful that G.W. Bush will be impeached in the next two years, but the book could still serve as a didactic tool that illustrates how constitutional scholars put together a case for impeachment. It could also serve as a framework for evaluating the actions of a future administration, and possibly help to avert illegalities in such an administration.

Careful observations of Bush's demeanor in the time after 9/11 and before the beginning of the brutal invasion of Iraq reveals (with a fair level of confidence) that he was being deceptive in his justification for that invasion and for NSA spying programs. But such an analysis would not satisfy the needs of constitutional law. To prove lying in the legal sense requires one to show intent, and this is very difficult. The Center for Constitutional Rights however argues in this book that such a proof may not be necessary, at least for the case of NSA spying, since it was "blatantly illegal." The section "Article 1" in the book discusses the Center's reasoning in more detail. Noticeably absent in the discussion are any names of U.S. citizens who were actually spied upon by the NSA. This apparently is not required in developing a constitutional case for impeachment. An admission by the president that such spying occurred is sufficient. The Center states in the article that administration officials have admitted this, but the names of these officials and the names of the citizens subjected to this intrusion are not given.

The strongest case for impeachment discussed in the book concerns the willful violation of the United Nations Charter, which as the Center argues, is a treaty of the United States signed by the president and was ratified by the Senate. The president is therefore constitutionally obligated to respect this treaty, which prohibits the initiation of force against another country unless authorized by the UN Security Council or in self-defense. The Center reminds the reader that the UN Charter does not hold a "preventive" attack, i.e. an attack against a country with the belief that doing so may prohibit a future attack from that country, to be justified from the standpoint of self-defense. The war against Iraq was therefore a violation of the president's oath of office, and this warrants impeachment. It is the opinion of this reviewer that this article of impeachment is sufficient grounds to impeach G.W. Bush, and no other justification is needed. Again, actual impeachment hearings will not happen, due to the short amount of time left for this regime to be in office, but the fact that this book was written indicates that there are some people that are willing to stand up to the current regime and not engage in the blind sycophancy, the unquestioned loyalty, that is expressed by so many of its supporters.

I bought this book and was done reading it that night. I couldn't put it down. I would like to see the biased right wing refute the claims here. Article I is just enough to impeach. So a man can be impeached for lying about a sexual relationship with an intern but can't be impeached for illegally wiretapping it's citizens and non-citizens? Something is wrong here..

Every person in America needs to read this.

When I first began the book, I didn't think it would be able to change my mind that Bush, while incompetent, had done anything that would rise to the level of impeachable offense. This book, however, with its succinct style did change my mind. I am not sure we actually should impeach him, but I do, now, believe his behavior rises to a level where he could be impeached.

The book, written by a team of lawyers, is written as the articles of impeachment would be laid out against the President. It is well written, and contains explanations of why each item is an impeachable offense. In addition, the appendix holds a wealth of information, including the articles of impeachment that were written for Johnson, Nixon and Clinton.

I would recommend that this book be read by anyone who thinks that Bush should not be impeached, as well as anyone interested in how it could be done. I cannot guarantee it will change your mind, but it certainly will make you think.