Pelosi Supports Investigating Bush Administration

by: Chris Bowers

Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 10:43

HR 104, a bill by House Judiciary Chair John Conyers to create a commission to investigate Bush-era crimes, took a step forward yesterday when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled her support. From the Young Turks:

Pelosi who famously remarked in 2006 after Democrats won control of both Houses of Congress that "impeachment is off the table" indicated during an interview with Fox News she was willing to support legislation proposed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers to create a blue-ribbon panel of outside experts to probe the "broad range" of policies pursued by the Bush administration "under claims of unreviewable war powers," including torture and warrantless wiretaps.

But told by Fox News' Chris Wallace that President-elect Barack Obama signaled his unwillingness to support efforts to investigate the Bush administration, Pelosi countered, saying, "I think that we have to learn from the past, and we cannot let the politicizing of the - for example, the Justice Department, to go unreviewed. Past is prologue. We learn from it. And my views on the subject - I don't think that Mr. Obama and Mr. Conyers are that far apart."(...)

Pelosi said issues related to the politicization of the Justice Department will require Congress to "look at each item and see what is a violation of the law, and do we even have a right to ignore it, and other things that are - maybe time spent better looking to the future rather than to the past."

The pre-season prediction of the House being more progressive than the Senate appears to be holding true to form. On Wednesday, the House will pass legislation to place increased transparency, oversight and conditions on TARP funds, even though the Senate, led in this case by Baking Chair Chris Dodd, is currently refusing to pass similar legislation. The same can be said of HR 104 as there is currently no equivalent legislation in the Senate to investigate Bush administration crimes.

There is a glimmer of hope, however. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island has said that he intends to investigate the Bush administration:

"I think that there's a lot that remains to look at, and I appreciate that President Obama doesn't want to make it his purpose as a new president, with America in real distress in many directions, to go back and look at all this, but I think we in Congress have an independent responsibility, and I fully intend to discharge that responsibility," Whitehouse said.

I have placed a call to Senator Whitehouse's office on this matter, inquiring as to whether the Senator intends to introduce legislation similar to HR 104 in the Senate. I have not heard back yet, and I do not imagine that I will hear back before Wednesday given the holiday and festivities, but this is another great example of a piece of progressive legislation that needs a little help to get through Congress. As such, it is legislation we will work to try and pass.

Chris Bowers :: Pelosi Supports Investigating Bush Administration

Tags: legislation project, HR 104, HR 384, Bush Administration, Congress, (All Tags)

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Pelosi Supports Investigating Bush Administration | 5 comments

Too little, too late (4.00 / 1)

What a coward.

Pelosi has zero credibility on this. There should be criminal investigations into the Bush/Cheney crimes. However, those investigations should be made by the Obama DOJ and/or a Special Prosecutor that is independent of Congress.

The primary oversight role of Congress is with regard to policy. If an administration is exceeding its authority or failing to execute authority mandated by Congress then Congress should step in. But once the administration is gone, then I fail to see what purpose will be served by Congress "investigating" at this point. Perhaps Pelosi just wants to grant everyone immunity in exchange for their testimony.

No, thanks, I'd rather have convictions.

by: space @ Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 09:52:33 AM CST

by: you @ soon

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Was there a fear (0.00 / 0)

that if Obama had signaled he'd investigate, then the Bush Administration would have issued last minute pardons because they can be offered even if somebody hasn't been charged with a crime?

by: afertig @ Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 10:13:54 AM CST

by: you @ soon

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By that logic, she sure should have waited a couple of days. n/t (0.00 / 0)

by: sb @ Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 13:06:55 PM CST

[ Parent ]

pelosi also said we need entitlement reform (0.00 / 0)

pelosi also said she agrees we need "etitlement" reforms and would consider cutss in benefits. with all this good will it could be squandered. want to freak out milions? keep talking like that.

by: art3 @ Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 14:03:47 PM CST

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Pelosi was thinking about this before the last midterms... (0.00 / 0)

...here's something from May 2006 piece in the New Yorker:

Rahm Emanuel, who worked in the Clinton White House, says that the collapse of Bush's support--recent polls put his approval rating in the high twenties--is not enough to propel the Democrats back to power. "We still have to pick the lock here," he said, referring to the difficulty of unseating incumbents, especially in congressional districts that, over the years, have been gerrymandered into single-party redoubts. Some of his colleagues, however, do little to restrain their optimism. "I'll tell you this: if the election were held today, we would win," Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, who represents San Francisco, told me earlier this month. Pelosi appeared excited by the prospect of one specific consequence of a Democratic victory: "We win in '06, we get subpoena power." Pelosi has said that the Democrats would reserve the right to investigate every aspect of the Bush Administration, including its rationale for the Iraq war.
Pelosi's vision of a subpoena-filled 2007 appeals to her party's most liberal supporters. But there is a worry that such a tack might alienate moderates, and that it would motivate otherwise dispirited Republicans to go to the polls. "You know, if you spend your whole day trying to catch the dog that bit you because all you want to do is kick him, you're not going to win many friends," Brian Schweitzer, the Democratic governor of Montana, told me.

"This ain't for the underground. This here is for the sun." -Saul Williams

by: tru blu @ Mon Jan 19, 2009 at 14:50:32 PM CST

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Pelosi Supports Investigating Bush Administration | 5 comments

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