McDermott considers impeachment

By Bryan Bissell, PolitickerWA.com Reporter

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Seattle), the long-serving 7th District U.S. Congressman, made remarks on the House floor this morning in favor of the impeachment of President George W. Bush. He said that, after a long struggle with the implication of one of the House's "gravest" decisions, he was signing onto a resolution to consider the impeachment of President Bush based on evidence from three new books by Ron Suskind, Vincent Bugliosi and Bob Woodward.

McDermott spokesman Mike DeCesare said Rep. McDermott would not speculate as to whether or not he thought the call for impeachment would be widespread among Democrats, and did not think it would hurt Democrats' electoral chances in the fall.

"As you can tell by the remarks, this was/is deeply personal to Jim, so he wouldn't speculate beyond himself," DeCesare told PolitickerWA.com. "Jim answers to the people of the7th Congressional District and after much deliberation he reached a decision and wanted them to know. He doesn't think a decision of conscience will have a negative impact."

See McDermott's full remarks on the House floor below.

Mr. Speaker: For the last two years I have struggled with the issue of whether the House should consider impeachment of a sitting President.

Next to declaring war, impeachment is the gravest matter the House of Representatives must consider.

I fully understand the gut-wrenching consequences such a national debate could precipitate. Yet, there is one fact we cannot overlook or escape.

American cannot regain its moral leadership in the world if America cannot hold its leaders accountable for their actions at home.

The allegations that would warrant impeachment keep growing.
They have been illuminated in many recent books including The Way of the World by Ron Suskind, the book by Vincent Bugliosi, and the new book by Bob Woodward, The War Within.

Over five years ago, I tried to place an asterisk in the Congressional Record next to the statements about Iraq the President made to Congress. I was attacked for saying the President would mislead us into the war, but the American people ultimately learned the truth.

There seems to be no end to the allegations and we have a responsibility to investigate their authenticity. That's why I am signing onto a resolution to consider impeachment of the President.

Without accountability, a Democracy will fail.
Thank you.

Bryan Bissell is a PolitickerWA.com Reporter and can be reached via email at noreply@politicker.com.

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