Congress

Watch Rep. Waxman (D-CA)

Watch Rep. Inslee (D-WA

Watch Rep. Slaughter (D-NY), Rep. Watson (D-CA), Rep. Pallone (D-NJ), Rep. Frank (D-MA) and Caucus Chair Menendez (D-NJ

The Honorable Tom Davis
Chairman
Committee on Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Chairman:

I am writing regarding recent reports that provide new details about the involvement of Karl Rove, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, in the disclosure of Valerie Plame's identity as an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.

An article in the Washington Post [1] this morning and recent disclosures in Newsweek and other reports [2] are extraordinary. If true, they indicate that the President's top political advisor played a central role in the outing of a covert CIA agent. According to the Washington Post account, Mr. Rove's attorney insists that Mr. Rove did not identify Ms. Plame "by name." But Mr. Rove did identify her as the spouse of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV, which would seem to be a distinction without a difference.

Senator Barbara Boxer Speech at the Commonwealth Club
San Francisco July 6, 2005

It is a great honor to be back at the Commonwealth Club.

When I decided to give a speech about Iraq, I knew I wanted to give it here. That’s because of the pivotal role the Commonwealth Club has played for more than 100 years, fostering real dialogue on the critical challenges that define the times in which we live.

Today, those challenges are vast, from the Supreme Court vacancy to the attack on Social Security. But the war in Iraq is the most daunting because the status quo—of Americans dying, of Iraqis dying, of young soldiers coming home by the thousands with injuries to mind and body—weighs so heavily on all Americans.

RAW STORY

A letter penned by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) calling on Bush adviser Karl Rove to explain or resign over his role in outing a CIA agent has garnered a handful of signatories in the House, RAW STORY has learned.

Just 17 members have signed. Finding congressmembers to sign a letter during a Congressional recess is often difficult, and Conyers' office has extended a deadline for others to sign on until next Wednesday.

The current signers are Reps. John Conyers, Jr.; Maurice Hinchey; Sheila Jackson Lee; Sam Farr; Diane Watson; Barbara Lee; Zoe Lofgren; Danny Davis; Henry Waxman; Corrine Brown; Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick; Raul Grijalva; James McGovern; Bernie Sanders; Lynn Woolsey; Mike Honda; and Carolyn Maloney.

By David Sirota

You knew it was coming, didn't you? That's right - within 24 hours, the right-wing spin machine is up and working to transform the tragic London bombing into a way to attack progressives as weak on terrorism. Sadly, it is a tactic that continues to emasculate many Democrats, who still can't seem to find the guts to stand up to this nonsense.

Exhibit A is this morning's Wall Street Journal opinion page - the place that essentially re-prints talking points from the Republican National Committee. There James Taranto says that "certain people don't remember" that "an attack on a much worse scale happened in the U.S. less than four years ago." Really, James? Who are those people? Are you speaking of people who have become senile in that time?

By Dave Richardson
Times Herald-Record
drichardson@th-record.com

New Paltz - Last night, more than 500 people hung on Maurice Hinchey's every word.

The Hurley Democrat leaned into the podium and looked gravely at the audience.

"We are in danger of losing our republic," he said. He was far from joking.

The topic of discussion: the so-called Downing Street memos, a series of documents recounting conversations between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and high-ranking British officials in 2002, during the buildup to the war in Iraq.

The memos, which have reportedly been authenticated by British officials, paint a picture of a Bush administration apparently set on war with Iraq long before the decision to invade was supposedly made and bent on "fixing the facts and the intelligence around the policy."

By Hallie Arnold , DailyFreeman.com

NEW PALTZ - The Downing Street memos, a series of communications that some say proves the Bush administration fabricated its justification for the war in Iraq, should be the subject of a full-blown Congressional inquiry, U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey told the crowd assembled for a presentation on the memos on the SUNY New Paltz campus Thursday night.

But the lack of checks and balances in the "monolithic" government, in which both the Congress and Senate favor the administration, will make mounting such an investigation a difficult prospect for those lawmakers who have questioned and continue to question both the impetus for the war in Iraq, and America's continued involvement there, Hinchey, D-Hurley, said.

Hinchey To Host Two Community Forums
To Discuss Implications Of Downing Street Memos

Congressman Will Visit Binghamton and New Paltz To Highlight Bush Administration's Deception and Manipulation Of The American Public and Media Surrounding Iraq War

Washington, DC - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) will hold two community forums next week to discuss the implications of the Downing Street memos and other information recently uncovered that further calls into question the Bush Administration's case for war in Iraq. Hinchey's first community forum on the Downing Street memos will take place on Wednesday, July 6 from 5:00-7:00pm at the Christ Episcopal Church located at the corner of Henry and Washington Streets in Binghamton. On Thursday, July 7, Hinchey will hold the second forum from 7:00-9:00pm at the Coykendall Science Building Auditorium at SUNY New Paltz.

RAW STORY

The following letter, drafted by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), was issued to other House Democrats for signature this afternoon, and obtained by RAW STORY.

Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, calls on Bush adviser Karl Rove to explain his role in the outing of a CIA agent or resign his office.

"We write in order to urge that you require your Deputy White House Chief of Staff, Karl Rove, to either come forward immediately to explain his role in the Valerie Plame matter or to resign from your Administration," the veteran Democrat writes. "High-ranking members of your Administration who are involved in any effort to smear a private citizen or to disseminate information regarding a CIA operative should be expected to meet a far higher standard of ethical behavior and forthrightness."

Talking Points Memo is Pursuing a New Aspect of the Story
By Congressman John Conyers
Saturday, July 2
http://www.conyersblog.us/

How do the facts and intelligence get fixed around the policy, as the highest ranking British government officials have alleged the Bush Administration was doing to justify the Iraq war?

One way would be by having the Vice President hover over the shoulders of intelligence analysts. This paragraph caught my eye from a 2003 Washington Post article. Notice how close the wording of the last sentence is to the language in the Downing Street Minutes:

"Vice President Cheney and his most senior aide made multiple trips to the CIA over the past year to question analysts studying Iraq's weapons programs and alleged links to al Qaeda, creating an environment in which some analysts felt they were being pressured to make their assessments fit with the Bush administration's policy objectives, according to senior intelligence officials."

By Congressman John Conyers
Thursday, June 30
http://www.conyersblog.us/

This is my inaugural blog since the new registration and rss systems were created, and I very much look forward to being able to work with you all and review your comments again.

At least Three Important Developments to Report on Today:

Downing Street

Today, 51 Members and I took the Downing Street Investigation to the next level by filing a Freedom of Information Act request with the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department. We also made a formal request for hearings with the Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, International Relations, Armed Services, and Intelligence. Raw Story has a copy of both letters.

Signers of June 30, 2005, FOIA Request

John Conyers, Jr.
Sheila Jackson Lee
Mike Thompson
John D. Dingell
Peter DeFazio
Dennis J. Kucinich
Jim McDermott
Michael R. McNulty
Gwen Moore
Bernard Sanders
William Lacy Clay
Maxine Waters
Marcy Kaptur
Carolyn B. Maloney
David Wu
Ted Strickland
Brian Baird
Mark Udall
Tom Udall
Barney Frank
Raúl M. Grijalva
John F. Tierney
Donald M. Payne
Chris Van Hollen
Louis M. Slaughter
Grace F. Napolitano
Darlene Hooley
Diana DeGette
Emanuel Cleaver
Robert Wexler
Major R. Owens

RAW STORY

Conyers and 51 Members File FOIA Request on Downing Street Minutes; Members Formally Seek Hearings in House

Representative John Conyers, Jr., (D-MI) House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member, along with 51 other Members today submitted a broad and comprehensive FOIA request to the White House, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State seeking any and all documents and materials concerning the Downing Street Minutes and the lead up to the Iraq war, RAW STORY has learned.

In addition, the Members also formally requested that the House Committees on Judiciary, Armed Services, International Relations, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence commence hearings on the Downing Street Minutes.

Letters are effective when they're in your own words. Don't copy this one. Just learn from it.

Dear Senator Coburn:

Thank you for your prompt response. I feel I must, with respect, disagree
with your decision not to support a Congressional Resolution of Inquiry into
the President's long-ago decided upon war against Iraq.

The Downing Street Memos and other documents dated as early as 1999 clearly
illustrate this administration's determination to launch an unprovoked war
of aggression against Iraq. The marketing of this lethal "product", as
White House spokesman Scott McLellan has so callously labeled it, was based

RAW STORY

Several Democratic congressmembers, led by ranking House Judiciary member John Conyers (D-MI), have opted to move planned Downing Street memo-related speeches on the House floor Tuesday evening to Thursday, RAW STORY has learned.

The handful of members were forced to delay their plans after the Republican leadership scheduled several late-night votes, Conyers press secretary Dena Graziano told RAW STORY. They now plan speeches Thursday evening, though they could be thwarted again if votes are scheduled or Congress is adjourned.

Among those who have expressed interest in speaking are Democratic Reps. John Conyers, Sheila Jackson Lee, Maxine Waters, Barbara Lee, John Lewis, Jay Inslee, Julia Carson, Louise Slaughter, Major Owens and Barney Frank, aides say.

Washington, D.C. - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Congressman John Murtha will hold a news conference today at 2:15 p.m. to discuss the war in Iraq and the questions Democrats would like the President to answer in his speech on Iraq tonight.

WHO: House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Congressman John Murtha, Ranking Member, Defense Appropriations Subcommittee

WHAT: News Conference to Discuss War in Iraq and questions Democrats would like the President to address in his speech

WHEN: Tuesday, June 28 at 2:15 p.m.

WHERE: H-204, The Capi

By Shakespeare's Sister

Following up on yesterday’s post about the general who confirmed in a 2003 briefing the secret air war, known as the "spikes of activity" which preceded Congressional authorization for the Iraq War, we come to find out, care of Spoof News editor JJ, that the same general, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, was nominated by Bush on May 16 as chief of staff of the Air Force to succeed Gen. John P. Jumper who has served in the position since September 2001.

It wasn’t all that long ago when a young conservative congressman from Illinois named Donald Rumsfeld spoke eloquently on the floor of the House of Representatives during the Vietnam War about the need for the Johnson administration to speak more truthfully about that conflict.

A 1966 article in the Chicago Tribune quoted Rumsfeld as saying the following: “The administration should clarify its intent in Viet Nam,’ he said. ‘People lack confidence in the credibility of our government.’ Even our allies are beginning to suspect what we say, he charged. ‘It’s a difficult thing today to be informed about our government even without all the secrecy,’ he said. ‘With the secrecy, it’s impossible. The American people will do what’s right when they have the information they need.

The Hill
By Josephine Hearn

Democrats are eyeing several parliamentary maneuvers to prod Congress into investigating the so-called Downing Street memo and other recently disclosed documents that they contend shows that the Bush administration manipulated prewar intelligence to build support for the war in Iraq.

Although any Democratic move will almost certainly fail in the face of vigorous Republican opposition, such maneuvers would constitute the first steps toward filing articles of impeachment, a bold step that some Democrats have left as an open question in recent weeks.

“If you read the record of the writing of the Constitution, ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ had a very particular meaning at the time of the drafting of the Constitution. It certainly didn’t mean lying about sex, but it might well mean lying to the Congress about a large public purpose such as Iraq,

Congressman John Conyers, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee are asking their colleagues in the House of Representatives to join them on the evening of June 28 to discuss the Downing Street Minutes on the floor of the House.

They need our help. Please contact your Congress Member right away and ask them to contact the Judiciary Committee staff and commit to taking part.
Phone: 1-877-762-8762
Email: http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/39

Below is a letter that has been circulated to Congress members:

Join the 'Out of Iraq' Caucus
On June 28, 2005 for an Hour of Special Order on the Downing Street Minutes

DOWNING STREET UPDATE
From RawStory.com
Larisa Alexandrovna - Raw Story Staff

Senator Kerry (D - MA) sends letter to Senate Intelligence Committee pressing for answers on the Downing Street Memo and other Downing documents. The letter leaked to Raw Story, is also signed by Senators Johnson, Corzine, Reed, Lautenberg, Boxer, Kennedy, Harkin, Bingaman, and Durbin. The text of the letter is below.
###
June 22, 2005
The Honorable Pat Roberts, Chairman
The Honorable John D. Rockefeller, IV, Vice Chairman
United States Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence
SH-211

Washington, DC 20510

Tim Wheeler
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 06/23/05 12:24

Lawmakers respond to public outcry

WASHINGTON — “Let Conyers in!

Full hearings transcript in searchable PDF: HERE

Testimony of Joseph Wilson
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/288

Testimony of Cindy Sheehan
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/287

Testimony of Ray McGovern
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/289

Testimony of John Bonifaz
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/286

Written Testimony of Ann Wright
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/290

Written Testimony of Karen Kwiatkowski
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/291

Thursday 23rd June 2005 (00h30) :
June 21, 2005
Congressional Record

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I am here this evening to talk about something new and wonderful that has happened in the Congress of the United States of America. I am here to talk about a new caucus that is named Out of Iraq Caucus. I am here to talk about the men and women of this House who have decided they can be silent no longer. I am here to talk about men and women who represent various points of view relative to support for the President from the time that he first announced he was going into Iraq to now. I am here to talk about why we have formed this caucus, what we plan to do, but more than that this evening, we are going to focus on our soldiers and those who are in Iraq serving this country, those who are there in harm’s way, those who have been killed in Iraq, those who are up at Walter Reed Hospital suffering from serious injuries, having lost limbs, having lost their eyesight, those who do not know what the future holds for them. We are going to focus on that this evening because it is extremely important for the families of these soldiers to know and understand that we support these soldiers. We know that many of them went there because they were called to duty. They were recruited to go to Iraq because their President asked them to do so, and they wanted to serve this country despite the fact they did not understand all of the reasons why. Many of them went to serve because they thought that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11. But, of course, we know now that Saddam Hussein was not responsible for 9/11, and many of the soldiers know that now.

Published on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
by David Michael Green

I have seen the future of American politics, and its name is John Conyers.
Finally. Finally. It looks like the heavy cloud of this dark and ugly chapter of American history may be lifting.

The best bit of evidence for this greatly welcome and long overdue development came last Thursday in Washington. The setting for this historic moment appeared remarkably inauspicious, but the import of what occurred there was unmistakable. Indeed, in many ways the incongruity between the locale and the events it contained only underscored the degree to which Thursday's proceedings were so consequential.

Date: Tuesday, June 21, 2005
By: Monica Lewis, BlackAmericaWeb.com

A simple British memo is now causing a band of U.S. politicians to demand some concrete answers from President George W. Bush on how he plans to end the conflict in Iraq.

The “Downing Street Memo,

Published on Tuesday, June 21, 2005 by The Progressive
By Matthew Rothschild

The Bush dam is beginning to crumble.

The dam that defied opposition to the Iraq War.

The dam that kept Republicans from coming to their senses on Social Security.

The dam that held back critics of the USA Patriot Act.

It's no longer holding.

Bush's popularity is in the low forties, and may get to the freezing point soon.

And so his ability to keep getting away with "disassembling," as he would put it, is being washed away.

46 percent of Americans want U.S. troops to leave Iraq now.

By Virginia Rodino
June 21, 2005

Cindy Sheehan, founder of Gold Star Families for Peace, an advocacy group for families of soldiers killed in Iraq, voiced her satisfaction at a June 16 "Presidential Accountability" rally which focused on the Downing Street Memo and the crisis of the Bush Administration regarding its continued occupation of Iraq.

The rally followed a hearing led by Representative John Conyers, Jr., the ranking Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee and the Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus. The hearing explored details of the "Downing Street Memo," the leaked British document which shows that the Bush Administration planned the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq as early as July 2002.

By Congressman John Conyers
http://johnconyers.com

Dear Friend:

Thank you for signing the Downing Street Minutes letter to the president. I personally delivered your letter to the White House last Thursday.

Your participation in this issue has made a difference. The mainstream media has been very slow to report on this British Intelligence document claiming that evidence was being "fixed" to support the lead up to war against Iraq.

Yet, neither the media nor President Bush could ignore the massive groundswell of interest demonstrated by the more than 560,000 individuals who joined you in signing this letter.

Bonifaz
McGovern
Sheehan
Wilson
Conyers

-- courtesy of Chris Belcher