IMPEACH BUSH

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Three Democratic senators wrote a letter to the Government Accountability Office Thursday calling for an investigation of whether President Bush's Wednesday appointment of Sam Fox as U.S. ambassador to Belgium was legal. Bush bypassed Congress and gave Fox the position without confirmation from the Senate, angering Democrats who were strongly against his nomination.

Bush used his power to make recess appointments and gave Fox the job while lawmakers were on a one (day) -break. Recess appointments are generally made if Congress is out for a long time, such as a month-long summer vacation.

The letter, submitted by Democrats Chris Dodd of Connecticut, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Robert Casey of Pennsylvania, read: "We view the recess appointment of Mr. Fox as a clear abuse of the President's recess appointment power."

Dodd argued that the law that enables the president to make recess appointments was not created to get around the approval of the Senate.

"This is really now taking the recess appointment vehicle and abusing this beyond anyone's imagination," Dodd said, according to AP. "This is a travesty."

He said in a statement that what the President did was "deceptive at best and illegal at worst."

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Bush has the option to use recess appointments as he sees fit.

"I think the president views recess appointments as an appropriate way to get people who are qualified into jobs that need to be filled," Johndroe said. And it's a process that's been used many times over the years for people whose nominations have lingered or have been stopped for various reasons.

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