Will Ellison pursue impeachment? Not for now, he says

01/26/2007

Impeachment backers want him to use his spot on the Judiciary Committee to pursue action against the president.


By Rob Hotakainen,
Star Tribune
Last update: January 25, 2007 – 11:10 PM


WASHINGTON - If campaign talk means anything, there would be at least one sure vote on the House Judiciary Committee to impeach President Bush if the matter ever came up.
It would come from freshman Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, the Minneapolis lawyer and former state legislator who got a plum assignment when he was named to the storied House panel this month.

At a rally in Loring Park in October, Ellison said Bush "has been running amok" and needs to be reined in: "There is one way that you can truly hold this president accountable, and it's impeachment."

But for the time being anyway, Ellison seems in no hurry to push the matter. "My opinions really have not changed over time, but the circumstances that I'm in have," he said. He said that he's "a step before impeachment," adding that his emphasis as he learns the ropes in Congress is on a broader range of human and civil rights issues.

Ellison's appointment to the Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over impeachment, has brought applause from the president's fiercest critics. Democratic leaders have made clear they don't intend to move to impeach Bush, and critics are disappointed, hoping Ellison will provide a loud voice to ignite their lonely crusade. Pro-impeachment groups plan to press their case for impeachment when they join anti-war demonstrators for a huge rally Saturday in Washington.

"All of us are thrilled that Mr. Ellison is in Congress and is on the Judiciary Committee," said David Swanson, Washington director of ImpeachPAC. "Keith Ellison, I think it's safe to say, has gone further toward impeachment than any other member of Congress."

Ellison, who introduced a pro-impeachment resolution in the Minnesota Legislature last year, received a $1,000 contribution from ImpeachPAC and is the group's only endorsed congressional candidate who won election in 2006.

Mikael Rudolph of Minneapolis, co-founder of a group called ImpeachforPeace.org, wasn't aware of Ellison's appointment until he was contacted by a reporter. "That's fabulous!" he said.

Impeachment backers say that Ellison has only been on the job for three weeks and that it would be unfair to jump on him for not moving aggressively on impeachment. But Swanson said he'll be "extremely disappointed" if Ellison has done nothing after a month or two.

At the rally in Minneapolis, Ellison said it was time to "send the message to this Bush character that we're not going to have it anymore." He said that impeachment "would be a major undertaking and it would dominate the headlines for a long time" but that it was the right course.

Since taking office on Jan. 4, Ellison has not made impeachment an issue. Last week he joked that he's still learning where the bathrooms and cafeterias are located. But he said that he's backing proposals to fully investigate Bush and that "a little more homework needs to be done" before Congress can move to impeach.

"I'm a lawyer, you know. I don't think due process is just for some people, it's for all people, including the president."

Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., said Ellison's views won't matter because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has already said impeachment is "off the table."In all fairness to the gentleman from Minneapolis, he is a freshman member," Kline said. "I understand that he was endorsed by ImpeachPAC and supported financially. ... He probably feels that he made a commitment and he's got to make some noise, but so what?"

Swanson said that all members of Congress take an oath to uphold the Constitution and that Pelosi is abandoning her duty by refusing to move forward on impeachment. He said that "there are clearly dozens of Congress members who understand the need for impeachment" but that members fear they'll be attacked by the news media if they pursue it. He said that it's fine to investigate Bush but that a House member has to "cut to the chase" and introduce articles of impeachment.

Ellison said Congress must take its time. "These things are fluid," he said. "You know, these things have to take shape. ... The bottom line is we're going to have to let this thing run its proper and due course."

Ellison, the first black congressman from Minnesota and the first Muslim in Congress, said he wants to use his appointment to advance "a progressive agenda" and work on a broad range of issues, including a ban on racial profiling and beefed-up community-oriented policing. He said he also wants to speed up the immigration process, protect privacy and intellectual property rights and help pass a law that would make it illegal for states to impose lifetime voting bans on felons.

"I get to pursue my passion for civil and human rights," Ellison said.