Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 30, 1974. Cambodia Bombing Article of Impeachment. Elizabeth Holtzman.
Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 30, 1974. Cambodia Bombing Article of Impeachment. Elizabeth Holtzman.
Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 30, 1974. Cambodia Bombing Article of Impeachment. Elizabeth Holtzman.
Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 30, 1974. Cambodia Bombing Article of Impeachment. Elizabeth Holtzman.
Harold D. Donohue (D Massachusetts). The Chair will I now recognize the gentlewoman from New York, Ms. Holtzman, for 6 minutes and 15 seconds. Elizabeth Holtzman (D New York). Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I would like to speak in support of this Article, as a matter of great conscience and of the utmost seriousness. I think that those who would argue that this is a matter of policy misunderstand the thrust of this Article of Impeachment because this article goes to this system of government and this article goes to the words of the Preamble of the Constitution, "We the people"' and this article goes to a system of self -government where the people of this country through their elected representatives, the Congress, can participate in decisions of substance to this country. There is no question that the decision to go to war or the decision to conduct a major war effort, the decision to spend tax dollars, the decision to commit American lives, is a substantial decision. And for a People who are a free people, a decision for the People ultimately to be involved in.
Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 30, 1974. Cambodia Bombing Article of Impeachment. Elizabeth Holtzman.
The decision with respect to the secret bombing of Cambodia was a decision in derogation of this system of free government and the participation of Congress. I am not saying that if the secret bombings were made public that the Congress would not have approved it. Congress may very well have approved it. But it was the right of Congress to have approved it and it was the right of Congress to have known and it was the right of the People to have approved it. That is the point that is made here and that is the reason for the seriousness of this Article and the seriousness of the President's actions.
Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 30, 1974. Cambodia Bombing Article of Impeachment. Elizabeth Holtzman.
I think it is very significant that there are many facts here that are undisputed. There is no question that the President himself ordered the secrecy of the bombing. General Wheeler has testified to that. There is no question about it. There is no question also that the bombing took place, the secret bombing, was of a massive nature, 3,695 B-52 sorties, 105,000 tons of bombs dropped. There is no question that the President ratified and confirmed the concealment of this bombing from the Congress. On April 30, 1970, the President stated, after we had already been bombing for over a year, "The American policy since then has been to scrupulously respect neutrality of the Cambodian people." And then again on June 30, 1970, the President reiterated that for 5 years American and allied forces have preserved Cambodian neutrality.
Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 30, 1974. Cambodia Bombing Article of Impeachment. Elizabeth Holtzman.
But even more serious, on February 25, 1971, after the bombing had gone on for almost 2 years, the President, in his foreign policy report submitted to the Congress, stated that in Cambodia, 'We pursued the policy of previous administrations until North Vietnamese action after Prince Sihanouk was deposed, made this impossible." So there is no question of the President's authorization of the secrecy. There is no question of the President's failure to tell the truth to the American people. There is no question that he ratified the submission of false reports to the Congress. And there is also no question that there was no justification for this. The only justification offered by this administration was that somehow we would affect Prince Sihanouk's administration in Cambodia. Well, let us assume for the moment that that justification is warranted. But Prince Sihanouk was deposed on March 18, 1970 and for 3 years thereafter, this administration, including the President, lied to the Congress and lied to the American people without any justification.
Impeachment Hearings. House Judiciary Committee, July 30, 1974. Cambodia Bombing Article of Impeachment. Elizabeth Holtzman.
It seems to me, Mr. Chairman, that the issue here is of great gravity and great seriousness. And the issue here is whether or not the Congress can participate in decisions which it is given power over under the Constitution, the power to make appropriations and the power to raise and support armies, and the power to declare war. And there is no question that this President acted in derogation of that. And if we are to remain a free people, and if we are as a People to govern decisions over our lives and death, then we have to be able to participate in such decisions. And we must give notice to this President and other Presidents that deceit and deception over issues as grave as going to war and waging war cannot be tolerated in a constitutional democracy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.