The process involves several steps in the case of a President or Vice-President:

• First, the House Judiciary Committee undertakes an investigation of the charges of misconduct. 
• If evidence supports the case, Articles of Impeachment are drawn up stating the charges and the Judiciary Committee votes on these Articles. 
• If the Committee approves the Articles, they are then voted upon by the entire House of Representatives. 
• If any of the Articles pass by a simple majority they are sent to the Senate for a trial.
• Conviction in the Senate requires a 2/3 majority of the Senate.
  Our petition asks that this process commence!

What if we don’t impeach?
If we fail to impeach high officers of the Bush Administration, Congress and the people of the United States will have informed the world (and all future aspirants to high office in the United States) that the egregious actions of this administration are permissible, i.e. that is okay to:

• lie to Congress and the American people;
• conduct illegal wiretaps of American citizens;
• violate international law;
• torture prisoners;
• hold prisoners without formal charges and without legal representation.
  Seeking impeachment is a moral imperative.   

What does our Maine petition hope to accomplish?
The petition calls upon our state legislature to debate and to vote on a resolution calling for impeachment investigations of the President and Vice President and, if the resolution is passed, to convey that resolution to the U.S. House of Representatives for impeachment investigation by the House Judiciary Committee.   Section 603 of the Jefferson manual (which was written by Thomas Jefferson and is used by the House of Representatives) provides that the States may launch investigations leading to impeachment by submitting such resolutions.

IF I sign the petition, what are you going to do with my signature?
We will present the signatures in batches to our state legislators. Your town of residence will show on the petition, but not your street address nor your telephone and email. We will not share your name, address or telephone or email with anyone for any purpose other than our stated intent: to inform our Maine state legislators that the petition signers want Maine to demand that impeachment investigations commence.

Should I be worried that I'll get in trouble if I sign?
No, but if you are asking this question, you also have to ask yourself, "Have we slid so far into a totalitarian dictatorship that I am actually afraid to exercise my Constitutionally-guaranted rights?" If your answer to that is "well, maybe so..." you MUST not only sign the petition, but work as hard as you can to reverse this dangerous trend. We who have already signed are confident that our guaranteed rights still exist, but we are very concerned for the future.

Where does “impeachment” appear in the Constitution?
Importantly in this instance, in Article Two (The Executive Branch) , Section 4, which reads “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

The process is further elaborated in Article One (The Legislative Branch), Sections 2 and 3, which state “House of Representatives shall ... have the sole power of impeachment," and “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all impeachments.”

 Who has been impeached? For what?
Impeachment proceedings have been brought against over 60 officers. Sixteen of those have faced trial in the Senate, including one Senator, various federal judges, cabinet members, and three Presidents.

President Andrew Johnson was acquitted in 1868 for having removed the War Secretary without approval of the Senate. President Clinton was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate for perjury before a federal grand jury. President Nixon resigned after Articles of Impeachment had been filed by the House Judiciary Committee and before the House voted on them.

What's the difference between the petition and a resolution passed by the Maine legislature?
The petition, coming from citizens of Maine who sign it, asks the Maine legislature to pass a resolution requesting an impeachment investigation in Congress. The resolution might be worded as follows:

Resolution to Impeach President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney
WHEREAS, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney conspired with others to defraud the United States of America by intentionally misleading Congress and the public regarding the threat from Iraq in order to justify a war in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 371; and
WHEREAS, George W. Bush has admitted to ordering the National Security Agency to conduct electronic surveillance of American civilians without seeking warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, duly constituted by Congress in 1978, in violation of Title 50 United States Code, Section 1805; and
WHEREAS, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney conspired to commit the torture of prisoners in violation of the "Federal Torture Act" Title 18 United States Code, Section 113C, the UN Torture Convention and the Geneva Convention, which under Article VI of the Constitution are part of the "supreme Law of the Land"; and
WHEREAS, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney acted to strip American citizens of their constitutional rights by ordering indefinite detention without access to legal counsel, without charge and without the opportunity to appear before a civil judicial officer to challenge the detention, based solely on the discretionary designation by the President of a U.S. citizen as an "enemy combatant", all in subversion of law; and
WHEREAS, In all of this George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney have acted in a manner contrary to their trust as President and Vice President, subversive of constitutional government to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of Maine and of the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, Petitions from the country at large may be presented by the Speaker of the House according to Clause 3 of House Rule XII; and
WHEREAS, Jefferson's Manual section LIII, 603, states that impeachment may be set in motion by charges transmitted from the legislature of a State;
Be it resolved that George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney, by such conduct, warrant impeachment and trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States; Be it resolved further by the legislature of the State of Maine, That our senators and representatives in the United States Congress be, and they are hereby, requested to cause to be instituted in the Congress of the United States proper proceedings for the investigation of the activities of the George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney, to the end that they may be impeached and removed from such office. Be it resolved further, That the Secretary of State of the State of Maine be, and is hereby, instructed to certify to each Senator and Representative in the Congress of the United States, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, under the great seal of the State of Maine, a copy of this resolution and its adoption by the legislature of the State of Maine. The copies shall be marked with the word "Petition" at the top of the document and contain the original authorizing signature of the Secretary of State.

The Democrats don't seem to want to make an impeachment process happen. Why?
The Maine Democratic Party recognized the importance of impeachment when they made it part of their platform in 2006. For the text of that "plank", see www.mainedems.org . (The Hancock County Democrats passed a similar resolution earlier, in May of 2006.) We do not understand why the new Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, chose to say "impeachment is off the table." There were other words she could have used, to reflect more clearly that impeachment is a fundimental process that protects our Constitution. Perhaps she was trying to signal that Democrats want to be cooperative, in contrast with the former policies under the Republicans. Perhaps the thinking was that the process would take too long, and Bush would be out of office in two years anyway.

However, this is not a partisan issue. If we believe that people in power are abusing that power to the detriment of this nation, we cannot let that situation continue in order to avoid conflict or inconvenience.  It is the responsibility of members of Congress, no matter what their party, under their sworn oaths of office, to examine the misuse of power, take action to end it, and to prevent it from happening in the future. Without a clear process of investigations leading to impeachment, a terrible precedent is being set for future tyrannical administrations. As a nation, we cannot tolerate two more years of unrestrained damage to our economy, our environment, and our standing in the eyes of the world.

Removal from office should not have to be a political "sure thing" in order for Congress to investigate Executive Branch actions that are highly improper and very possibly illegal.  Under the checks and balances system of our government, Congress may be shirking its responsibility if it does not take impeachment action. We, the people, as usual, must provide the wind to the sails.

Will an impeachment effort hurt the troops in harm's way?
This is a question we take very seriously. Based on all the evidence, we believe the troops are counting on the American people to do the right thing, and to hold the administration accountable for placing them in harm's way based on lies and deception. The best way to support the troops is to terminate this nightmare, bring them home, and give them the care they deserve as honorable veterans. (For some thoughts on how that can be accomplished, click on this link to a November, 2006 plan.)

Today (January 17, 2007) over 1000 members of the active-duty guard and reserve presented an "appeal for redress" to Congress. The text of that appeal reads clearly and simply as follows: “As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq. Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home.”

If these brave members of our military have the courage to speak out, we must support them with impeachment investigations.