GW Bush and ranking members of his administration committed high crimes while seeking and while in office. These crimes include: election fraud in 2000, illegal special favors for Enron and others (especially undue influence over the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission), gross abuse of authority, lying under the Oath of Office, sponsorship and implementation of the illegal and unconstitutional "Patriot Act" and other abuses of the U.S. Constitution.

There are several other important grounds for impeachment, including past offenses such as Bush's going AWOL / desertion and drug abuse, and more recent offenses such as war crimes in Iraq and allegations of complicity in 9/11 and / or illegal cover-ups after the fact.

The BushOccupation site doesn't discuss those serious charges. We focus on readily-proven high-crimes and misdemeanors. However, we believe any impeachment process should fully investigate all sound and plausible charges of wrongdoing by the Bush Administration.

The Congressional Republicans who impeached President Bill Clinton resist any impeachment effort, but that doesn't prevent us from demanding they perform their Constitutional duties. It's our duty to expose and denounce their hypocrisy unless and until they draft articles of impeachment against Bush and other high-ranking administration officials.

It's up to us to drive home this point over and over and over. The mass media will never hold up Bush to any standard of conduct at all. Unless we force their hand. This movement seeks to compel media coverage and will fill the breach by informing the electorate of Bush's crimes, abuses, and media failures to report on these offenses.

The majority who opposed the impeachment of Clinton may recoil from this demand for justice. Some dismiss this as partisan "pay back" or a waste of time. Untrue. Our republic and our lives are at stake. We must demand the most powerful remedy to this cancer on the republic.

We can prove Bush's pattern of deception and abuse constitute high crimes. Even worse, the Bush Occupation is wreaking havoc on our national well-being and our world standing. Bush is lying and Americans are dying. The stakes are too high to do anything less.

What is impeachment exactly?

Impeachment is the act of calling someone's honesty and credibility into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." It's also the constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" charge or accuse federal government officials of misconduct which may or may not involve criminal wrongdoing. The Senate then convicts or acquits the impeached official.

What exactly is a "high crime or misdemeanor" - the grounds for impeachment as provided in the US Constitution?

This is a subject open to interpretation. There are two schools of thought. Bush is impeachable under either formulation. The first is that a High Crime was a term describing crime committed by a person in high office, not a "serious crime." A misdemeanor is literally any wrongful, unethical act - even if not a crime.

The second view holds that the founders reserved impeachment only for the most serious misconduct while in office. Bush's established pattern of abuses of power and perjury in matters domestic and war-related constitute serious misconduct in the office of the presidency.

Why wasn't Bush charged with insider trading, obstruction of justice and perjury - making false material statements under oath - in the Harken Energy Inc. scandal? Why won't the media report on it?

These crimes occurred while Bush's father and his father's political appointees were in office. They refused to investigate or prosecute these cases properly. The media refuses to do their job. Write letters to the editor and demand they hold Bush accountable for these and other crimes.

What do people mean exactly when they talk about 'the rule of law?' Why should the president be hampered by laws?

Under the rule of law, the people make laws that apply equally to everyone, government officials included. The law then governs the people.

In order for the law to govern, the administration must have less power than the people and no single part of the administration can have the power to effect change by itself. This is also called the balance of powers, or checks and balances.

Legislative changes after 9/11 - especially the Orwellian "Patriot Act" upset the constitutional balance of powers and centralized great power within the office of the president. Bush is abusing this power in ways never foreseen by the Founding Fathers.

Because of Bush's increased power and his abuse of that power the rule of law no longer governs us. A man and his insiders rule us rather than represent us. We are no longer a republic. This is called despotism.

What has Bush done to the Constitution? How has his administration undermined the rule of law set forth in it?

We support legitimate, Constitutional efforts to keep us safe, but the Bush Occupation demanded, received and abuses sweeping authority to investigate and arrest anyone they declare a "terrorist" or an "enemy combatant." They can even target anyone they claim "assists" a "terrorist" - all without specifying what that means. The government has already abused the USA PATRIOT ACT to intimidate innocents and suppress free speech.

The Patriot Act and other Bush Occupation edicts deny American citizens our most basic civil rights including due process and equal protection under the law. Under federal law there are already three definitions of terrorism - international terrorism, terrorism transcending national borders and federal terrorism. The September 11th attacks violated all three of these laws.

Under Section 802 of the USA PATRIOT Act, a person commits the crime of domestic terrorism if within the U.S. they engage in activity that involves acts dangerous to human life that violate the laws of the United States or any State and appear to be intended:

(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or

(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.

Ironically, the Bush Occupation is using these provisions to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population" - law abiding Americans. They have not explained why this entirely new class of crime is necessary or why existing definitions in anti-terrorism laws were insufficient. This over-broad definition threatens free expression because it criminalizes acts of non-violent political protest and irrationally exaggerates common-place crimes into "terrorism."

Organizations on the right, left and center - including Operation Rescue, the Environmental Liberation Front, and protestors against globalization - regularly engage in activities that could subject them to prosecution as terrorists. Also, the government could prosecute any person who provided any "assistance" to protestors who might commit a simple crime.

An innocent who allowed a protestor who was accused of smashing a window or some other vandalism to visit their home is subject to prosecution under a new crime of "harboring" a terrorist (Section 803) or for "providing material support" to "terrorists." This even if none of them commit any actual crime.

We cannot know the extent of the abuse, because victims have been held incommunicado, indefinitely, without access to legal counsel. Most troubling, under PATRIOT I and II, the government may declare peaceful protests "domestic terrorism" and charge anyone who "provides assistance" to a protestor for aiding a terrorist. That person would be subject to arrest and confinement, even if the assistance is minor such as providing lodging for a friend in town for a march or other gathering.

We support prosecution of people who commit acts of violence and other serious crimes which endanger people. However, that behavior is already illegal and perpetrators of these crimes are already subject to prosecution. However, not all such crimes are "terrorism." A sensible response to real terrorism would not trample freedom or distract law enforcement agents' focus on real terrorists by treating ordinary citizens as terrorists.

What's the bottom line? Are you just radicals or communists who support terrorists and hate America?

No. We are moderates, liberals, progressives, and even conservatives who love America. That's why we honor American ideals and demand protection and restoration of our republic. That's why we demand impeachment and prosecution of people who committed crimes against our Constitution, who undermine the rule of law, and continue to assault our rights and freedoms. See: About Bush Occupation for more details.