Congressional Glance
When such Bush Administration wrongdoings are brought up publicly, Republican lawmakers often say that since the Congressional leaders known as the Gang of Eight did not express concern at the closed hearings that they are complicit in the condoning of torture, an opinion mentioned again at today's hearings.
In at least one way, these were the impeachment hearings that weren't.
Despite the name of his book, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, witness Vincent Bugliosi, author and former deputy district attorney, did not necessarily support the formation of impeachment hearings.
"Once he leaves office he could be criminally prosecuted for any crimes he had committed while in office," he said. "I've never suggested he could be prosecuted for murder while he was in office."
Many resolutions were suggested, including a bill to limit the president's authority to pardon of members of his administration.
In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.
