In April 2007, United States Representative

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich ( ; October 8, 1946) is an American politician. Originally a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Kucinich served as U.S. Representative from Ohio's Ohio's 10th congressional district, 10th congressional district fro ...

(D-

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

) filed an impeachment resolution () against Vice President

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

, seeking his trial in the Senate on three charges. After months of inaction, Kucinich re-introduced the exact content of H. Res 333 as a new resolution numbered in November 2007. Both resolutions were referred to the Judiciary Committee immediately after their introduction and the Committee did not consider either. Both resolutions expired upon the termination of the

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on January 3, 2009.

Process

The resolution charged that Vice President Cheney: # had purposely manipulated the

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process to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United States by fabricating a threat of Iraqi

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# had fabricated a threat about an alleged relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda, in order to justify the use of the

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against Iraq in a manner damaging to U.S. national security interests # in violation of his constitutional oath and duty, openly threatened aggression against

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absent any real threat to the

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, and had done so with the proven U.S. capability to carry out such threats, thus undermining U.S. national security.

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''H.RES.333, Summary as of: 04/24/2007--Introduced''
,

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''HRES 333 IH''
,

The resolution was authored and submitted by Congressman

, a representative of

who was also a presidential candidate in the 2008 election. Congressman Kucinich has made available more than 45 documents supporting the articles of impeachment at his Congressional website, including at least 15 for each article. Congressman

introduced the resolution on April 24, 2007. During his press conference announcing the resolution, Kucinich stated that he had not informed his party's leadership of the resolution and had not recently spoken about the resolution with Speaker of the House

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or Congressman John Conyers, the Chairman of the committee to which his resolution was referred.Michael Roston
''Kucinich announces impeachment charges against Vice President Cheney''

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, April 24, 2007 Upon introduction, Resolution 333 was referred to the

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, chaired by Congressman

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. Kucinich's resolution slowly gathered additional co-sponsors, but the Judiciary Committee never addressed the resolution at a hearing. On November 6, 2007, Kucinich read the text of HRES 333 on the House floor as a new resolution
H Res 799
), offering it as a " Question of the Privileges of the House". Democratic leadership, led by

House Majority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton Hoyer ( ; born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and retired attorney who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1981. He also served as House Majority Leader from 2007 to 20 ...

, immediately moved to

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the resolution. In what was expected to be an overwhelming vote in favor of tabling,"House Avoids Cheney Impeachment Debate"
November 7, 2007. Retrieved on June 26, 2008. Republicans began voting against doing so, trying to force a debate "potentially embarrassing" to Democrats.
''

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'', November 7, 2007. Retrieved on June 26, 2009. The resolution was kept alive after a vote of 251-162 against tabling, with 165 Republicans voting against terminating it. To avoid a debate, Hoyer then made a motion to refer H Res 799 to the Judiciary Committee for its review, although this referral would not require Committee action on the resolution. This motion was successful and the resolution was referred to the Judiciary Committee after a vote of 218-194. House speaker Nancy Pelosi has said "impeachment is off the table", and the Democrats have no interest in impeaching Mr. Cheney or President Bush over the Iraq war. Both resolutions were referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, chaired by Congressman

Jerrold Nadler Jerrold Lewis Nadler (; born June 13, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of New York. A Manhattan resident and a member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the U.S. representative for since 2023. Nadler was first ...

in addition to the Judiciary Committee. Neither committee ever held a hearing to consider either resolution. Both resolutions expired at the end of the 110th Congress on January 3, 2009.

Co-sponsors

In addition to Rep. Kucinich, the prime sponsor of the resolution, there were twenty-six co-sponsors:

References

External links

full text of resolution
(in

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format, a
Kucinich's Congressional website

full text of resolution
(in

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format, at

)
supporting documents
for H. Res. 333 (index of several documents in

format at Kucinich's Congressional website)
H.Res.333 on OpenCongress
{{Federal impeachment in the United States 2007 controversies in the United States 2007 in American law 2007 in American politics George W. Bush administration controversies Dick Cheney United States congressional resolutions Cheney, Dick

Process

Co-sponsors

See also

References

External links