WASHINGTON — Rep. Robert Wexler, a leading Florida supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, has signed on to a measure that would require impeachment hearings against President Bush, citing "unprecedented abuse of executive power."
Wexler, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee from Boca Raton, said he supports the measure because the Bush administration used a "massive propaganda campaign to sell the war in Iraq to the American people," and for the president's support for spying on U.S. citizens without obtaining warrants, among other things.
The articles of impeachment are being sponsored by Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination and one of Congress' most colorful liberals.
"A decision by Congress to pursue impeachment is not an option, it is a sworn duty," Wexler said in a statement. "It is time for Congress to stand up and defend the Constitution against the blatant violations and illegalities of this administration."
Wexler was one of only two Florida House Democrats who backed Obama over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the party's nomination. Last year, he led a nationwide campaign promoting impeachment hearings for Vice President Dick Cheney.
Kucinich used a parliamentary procedure to force a vote Wednesday on sending 35 articles of impeachment to the House Judiciary Committee. It passed 251 to 166, but the committee is not obligated to deal with it. House leaders have shown little interest in impeachment hearings.
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