Congressman Wexler delivered the following speech on January 15, 2008:

Mr. Speaker,

On November 7, 2007 this House voted to refer Congressman Kucinich's Resolution of Impeachment of Vice President Cheney to the House Judiciary Committee.

 As a Member of the Judiciary Committee, I now ask that we immediately began impeachment hearings. The issues at hand are too serious to ignore. Dick Cheney faces credible allegations of abuse of power that if proven may well constitute high crimes and misdemeanors.

Did the Vice President manipulate intellgience to push this nation into war on false pretense?

Did the Vice President unmask a covert CIA agent for political purposes? Did the Vice President order the illegal surveillance of Americans and the illegal use of torture?  These questions must be answered.

Evidence mounts almost daily on these charges. Just recently former White House press secretary Scott McClellan revealed that the Vice President and his staff purposefully gave him false information to report to the American people - a clear obstruction of justice. This Administration has undermined the checks and balances of our government by brazenly ignoring Congressional subpoenas,  and through reckless claims of executive privilege. Impeachment hearings are the only means available to this House to force the Bush Administration to answer questions and tell the truth.

Congress must now take the first step by holding Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten in contempt of Congress.

In this time, at this moment Congress must stand for truth. If we fail to act history may well judge us complicit in the alleged crimes of Vice President Cheney.

Mr. Speaker a growing chorus of American citizens are calling for this Administration and this Vice President to be held accountable.

The response from Congress thus far has been silence and denial. Not long ago, I launched a website where Americans could sign up in support of my call for hearings. The people responded – en masse. Today, after only four weeks online, over 189,000 Americans have registered their names in support for hearings.

NAMES I NOW HOLD IN MY HAND.

These frustrated and patriotic Americans come from all fifty states,  and they share one common goal - accountability for the Bush-Cheney Administration, and a re-birth of Congress as an equal branch of government. 

 So many have been working on this cause before me -groups like Democrats.com , After downing street.com , Codepink, impeach bush.org , impeach for peace, and others.  All told, there have been well over one million signatures urging us to take action.

Tomorrow, I will deliver to my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee a list of all the people that signed up in support of hearings and request that they join me in asking Chairman Conyers for hearings.    In addition, tomorrow – and continuing everyday for months – I will publish in the Congressional Record – several thousand names of the supporters who signed up online.  

History demands that we take action - because the case against Vice President Cheney is far stronger than the illegalities surrounding Watergate and the charges brought against President Nixon.

When compared to the partisan and petty allegations made against President Clinton by Ken Starr and the GOP Congress, the true gravity of the case against the Vice President appears in its devastating clarity.

In fact, in the history of our nation we have never encountered a moment where the actions of a President or Vice President have more strongly demanded the use of the power of impeachment. 

I have heard the arguments – that it is too late – that we have run out of time - and that we don't have the votes. While today there may not be enough votes in to impeach, it's premature to think that such support would not exist - AFTER hearings.

 Let us remember that it wasn't until AFTER hearings began that the Watergate tapes emerged.   Arguing that it is too late to hold hearings sets a dangerous precedent, as it signals to future administrations that in their waning months in office they're immune from constitutional accountability.  

  This House must have the conviction to face these troubling allegations. Holding hearings would put the evidence on the table - and the evidence alone must determine the outcome.