Bruce Fein has drafted an article of impeachment against President Obama. And he’s put it on the table.
Now, he’s waiting for a member of what he calls “the invertebrate branch” of government – Congress – to pick it up and file it.
Like Obama, Fein is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
Fein served as an associate Attorney General under President Reagan.
The cause for impeachment?
“Without congressional authorization expressed through a duly enacted law, the President unilaterally commenced war and employed the United States military in offensive action against the Republic of Libya on March 19, 2011.”
And that’s a violation of the “declare war” clause of the U.S. Constitution – Article I, Section VIII, Clause XI: “The Congress shall have the power …to declare war.”
Fein appeared at a press conference yesterday on Capitol Hill with Congressman Walter Jones (R-North Carolina) to publicize House Concurrent Resolution 107 that Jones introduced earlier this year.
Twelve other members of Congress – nine Republicans and three Democrats — have signed onto the resolution with Jones.
The resolution reiterates the declare war clause – that only Congress can declare war – but it has a second point – that if any president violates the declare war clause, that would constitute a high crime and misdemeanor “and a bill of impeachment should be introduced.”
Fein was asked why no member of Congress has stepped up to introduce his article of impeachment, which he drafted earlier this year.
Fein said that the article was published in Politico “but not in the Congressional Record.”
Fein hinted that a member of Congress may introduce it in the lame duck session.
“At least it would set a standard to compare what might happen in Iran or Syria,” Fein said. “Those are the most imminent possibilities for Presidential wars.”
“But the larger question is why shouldn’t an impeachment resolution be introduced. Part of it is a backlash from Clinton. People thought it was an instance of impeaching a President over sex. . .The optic wasn’t very favorable. And for that reason, the idea of impeachment wrongly fell into disrepute.”
Lawrence Wilkerson, the former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, said that the founders “would be stunned that we haven’t thrown a scurrilous bastard out every generation – they would be absolutely stunned.”
“This is not about President Obama,” Wilkerson said. “He just happens to be the occupant at the moment. Look from 1947 to 2012. This is a natural evolution of power. This is what was going to happen as soon as Harry Truman put his signature to the 1947 National Security Act. George Marshall looked at the President and said – ‘Mr. President, I fear we have militarized the decision making process.’”
“Precisely the case,” Wilkerson said. “Our foreign policy today is our military policy. The unified command commanders around the world make our foreign policy. The four star in Hawaii, the admiral sitting in Hawaii is more important in Tokyo and Beijing than any diplomat, and in some cases, even more so than anyone from the White House, other than the President himself. Because he carries with him, when he goes in to see the Prime Minister of Japan, carrier battle groups, air craft wings, marine amphibious groups, army divisions.”
“The Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, if he can even get in, carries a briefcase – empty. That’s your country today.”
Wilkerson signed onto a paper released last week titled Weighing Benefits and Costs of Military Action Against Iran.
“Invasion and occupation of Iran is the only that you are going to ensure yourself of what Lindsey Graham and John McCain and Joe Lieberman and others want – regime change and thus no nuclear weapon – it’s ten years, 500,000 troops and $3 trillion,” Wilkerson said. “The American people, by margins that are overwhelming – 70 percent, 76 percent, 67 percent of my own party – the Republican Party – don’t want war. They don’t want war with Iran. And yet we are walking down a road where the President has said – all options are on the table.”