Home > Rangel Introduces Impeachment Articles Against Rumsfeld
By Ethan Wallison
Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), a lead critic of the Bush
administration’s policy in Iraq, introduced eight articles of
impeachment Thursday against Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld amid Congressional outrage over the Pentagon’s
handling of charges of prison abuse by U.S. soldiers.
"I think that this rises to the point that it’s a high crime
and misdemeanor if he disappointed the president, kept
information from the Congress and kept this information from
the American people," Rangel said on the House floor.
Demonstrators disrupt a hearing of the Senate Armed Services
Committee on Capitol Hill Friday, May 7, 2004, where Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was testifying on prisoner abuse
in Iraq. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Among the prospective charges against Rumsfeld included in
the Rangel’s impeachment measure are that the Defense chief
"contributed to an atmosphere of lawlessness" that permitted
the abuses to take place, and "abdicated his role" in
allowing such a breakdown in discipline.
The articles also charge that Rumsfeld "urged and oversaw"
the removal of Saddam Hussein under a "false premise" -
namely, that the United States was under threat of "imminent"
attack from weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq’s
dictator was in league with al Qaeda in the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks.
The latter allegations have been a matter of semantic
argument for more than a year between Democrats and the GOP,
which has contended that neither Rumsfeld nor the Bush
administration had used either premise in their arguments for
Hussein’s ouster.
Republicans were quick to dismiss suggestions that Rumsfeld’s
impeachment was warranted - or had the slightest chance of
success.
"I think to bring up impeachment under these circumstances is
ludicrous and absurd," Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), a senior
member of the Judiciary Committee, said Thursday.
Chabot, echoing remarks that have resounded among GOP
lawmakers, praised Rumsfeld for his overall handling of the
Iraq war. "I think he’s done an exemplary job."
Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), a military reservist and a key
player in defense matters, described calls for impeachment as
a "reach" and an "overreaction," noting that Congress was
still awaiting the results of investigations into the prison
abuse.
Buyer also cited the dismissal of several key members in the
military chain of command as evidence that the military is
working through the problems Rangel cited. Among those
dismissed was the brigade commander responsible for Abu
Ghraib prison in Baghdad, where many of the abuses are
alleged to have taken place.
"That’s no small matter," Buyer said, noting that the
commander was a one-star general.
Rangel’s remarks came on a day of wrenching floor debate over
how the House would respond to the mushrooming abuse scandal.
Republicans and Democrats fought over the wording of a
resolution condemning the actions of soldiers implicated in
the scandal thus far, with Democrats calling for a full
Congressional investigation.
Some Democrats, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
(Calif.), demanded Rumsfeld’s resignation.
Much of the opprobrium surrounding the Defense secretary
resulted from a disclosure, earlier, that the Pentagon
withheld information from the White House and Congress about
ongoing and months-long investigations into abuse of
detainees in Iraq.