Washington, DC – Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, today released the following statement following the introduction by Congressman Dennis Kucinich of a privileged resolution to bring articles of impeachment against Vice President Cheney.  Woolsey is a co-sponsor of Kucinich’s original legislation, H. Res. 333.

“From the potentially manipulated intelligence that led us to war against Iraq, to his role in the outing of a covert CIA officer, Vice-President Cheney has at best operated in the gray area of the law during his time in office.  That’s why I believe that the Congress owes it to the American public to undertake a full and thorough investigation into the allegations against him.

“I strongly believe this is a debate that the Congress must undertake, which is why I voted in favor of allowing the resolution to come up for a vote.  However, realizing that the first step of any investigation must begin in the House Judiciary Committee, led by my friend Chairman John Conyers, I voted to send the legislation to committee.

“By deciding to send the legislation to the Judiciary Committee, instead of forcing an immediate vote, we are allowing for a process of oversight hearings that will shed light into the Vice President’s actions.  We also ensured that this movement didn’t face a certain death on the House floor, where it would only have been guaranteed 30 minutes of debate on each side, ensuring its failure and ending any possibility of impeachment.

“The Vice President has a lot to answer for, and I will continue to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to ensure that we hold him accountable.”