It is Time to Impeach

There has been a call in some quarters for the impeachment of the President. The reasons for this are vague and emotional, but seem to center around a disagreement over policy, or a perceived failure of the Iraq war. [sarcasm] Unfortunately, these are not impeachable offenses. [/sarcasm] Impeachment is only an alternative where "high crimes and misdemeanors" are involved.

There is a situation that may meet this criteria, and deserves the attention of Congress. The Logan Act, passed in 1799, prohibits any U.S. citizen from conducting foreign policy without authorization. It says, in part:

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

The President was very clear in his disapproval of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent trip to Syria, where she bungled a "message" from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Ulmert to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Since we are clearly in a "controversy" with Syria, and the Constitutional authority for conducting foreign policy rests solely with the President, Speaker Pelosi is apparently guilty of a "high crime."

If they really want to keep the House, Senate and make a serious play for the White House, the Democrats should initiate this action. Left to her own devices, Nancy Pelosi will undoubtedly pull other bone headed pranks to satisfy an ego as large as the jet plane she demanded, and screw up the Dems ambitions. There are murmurs of a Pelosi trip to Iran. If they leave the loose cannon to roll around on the deck, the Democrat ship will likely sink before the next election.