The number of US House Representatives who have signed on to H. Res 635 – supporting a probe looking into the grounds for impeaching Bush – has jumped to fourteen (14), including US Rep. John Conyers who initially sponsored the bill, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.

The total number of Members of US Congress who want Bush's impeachment or resignation is actually seventeen (17), including 14 co-sponsors of H. Res 635, plus US Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) who called for Bush's impeachment over wiretapping, and US Reps. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Bobby Rush (D-GA) who have called for Bush to step down.

The 14 members who have signed on to H. Res. 635 are Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA), Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO), Rep. Sheila-Jackson Lee (D-TX), Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Major Owens (D-NY), Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Fortney Pete Stark (D-CA), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), according to Thomas.loc.gov.

Seven members added their names yesterday, January 31, 2006, while one of the erstwhile co-sponsors – Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) – withdrew her name citing a clerical error.

Lofgren's Office advised Atlanta Progressive News last week that US Rep. Lofgren first learned she was listed as a co-sponsor after Atlanta Progressive News issued an article in December 2005. Her full statement is cited below.

The thing about H. Res. 635 is, it deals with impeaching Bush over a cluster of issues from misleading the public to go to war, to authorizing torture. Wiretapping was not listed as one of the reasons to investigate the grounds for Bush's impeachment in the bill because the existence of the secret, illegal wiretapping had not come to light yet when the bill was being prepared.

Some Members of Congress such as US Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) appear to see firmer grounds for impeaching Bush over his controversial authorization of illegal wiretapping on Americans, than for the reasons cited in H. Res. 635. Mr. Lewis told a radio station in December he would support impeachment over wiretapping.

It is unclear at this point whether Conyers or another member of Congress is prepared to introduce a new bill which would deal specifically with impeaching Bush over wiretapping.

Meanwhile, US Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Bobby Rush (D-IL) signed a "World Can't Wait" statement calling on Bush to "step down." Three other members of Congress signed that statement, that is, US Reps. John Conyers (D-MI), Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Major Owens (D-NY), but they are already included in APN's impeach-or-resign count due to their sponsoring of H. Res. 635.

"Mr. Speaker, during the December recess I was surprised to read in a newspaper article that I was listed as a cosponsor of House Resolutions 635, 636 and 637 since I had not cosponsored any of these measures. I discovered that due to administrative errors, my name was mistakenly added to these bills by the Judiciary Committee staff," Rep. Lofgren told Congress yesterday, according to the Congressional Record.

However, Rep. Lofgren is highly troubled about Bush's involvement in illegal wiretapping and is leaving impeachment options on the table, she says.

"Serious questions have been raised about President Bush's actions in approving warrantless wiretaps by the NSA, as well as questions about both the Vice President's and the President's information that was provided to the Congress as the basis for the decision to initiate war in Iraq. These important questions need to be answered, and Congress should then consider the answers in a careful, deliberate and thoughtful manner. It is important that this process be done in a dispassionate way that avoids partisanship. This thorough analysis should, in my judgment, be undertaken before anything such as these resolutions are considered."

--Matthew Cardinale is the Editor of Atlanta Progressive News. He may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com.

See also:

US Rep. Lewis Calls for Bush Impeachment (December 26, 2005): http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/pages/13/index.htm

EXCLUSIVE: Bush Impeachment Inquiry Has 8 House CoSponsors (January 01, 2006): http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/pages/14/index.htm

Commentary:
How fast times have changed. When a single republican made false charges (without a scintilla of proof) against President Clinton, it was NEWS. Now we have 17 members of congress who want impeachment hearings and a majority of Americans want Bush impeached but the media ignores both stories. What world do these guys live in?