Jefferson's Manual is an annotation of rulings on House procedural questions, like this one. Section 370 of Jefferson's Manual is the part that enumerates rulings on the meaning of this House Rule. Section 370 begins by points out that the English Parliament's rule against speaking "irreverently" against the King is "manifestly inapplicable to the House" (because . . . we don't have a King.)
The only part of Section 370 that addresses debate on impeachment is this one:
Although wide latitude is permitted in debate on a proposition to impeach the President (V, 5093), Members must abstain from language personally offensive (V, 5094; Dec. 18, 1998, p. 27829); and Members must abstain from comparisons to the personal conduct of sitting Members of the House or Senate (Dec. 18, 1998, p. 27829). Furthermore, when impeachment is not the pending business on the floor, Members may not refer to evidence of alleged impeachable offenses by the President contained in a communication from an independent counsel pending before a House committee (Sept. 14, 1998, p. 20171; Sept. 17, 1998, p. 20758), although they may refer to the communication, itself, within the confines of proper decorum in debate (Oct. 6, 1998, p. 23841).
A fair reading of this provision is that it's inviting debate on impeachment, i.e., "wide latitude." That last part there is, frankly, gibberish, and hardly justified imposing a gag order on Members who want to talk the weighty Constitutional issue of whether the President should be impeached.
There is also an undercurrent in Section 370 that Members simply shouldn't be overly critical of the President, to avoid "exciting antagonism" by "other branches of government." Clearly, there are some kinds of limits in that regard, which the GOP tested over and over again during the Clinton Administration. On Nov. 18, 1995, during a government shutdown, for instance, Congressman John Mica, my Congressional neighbor to the north, called President Clinton a "little bugger." Section 370 notwithstanding, Mica avoided a one-day "time out" (called "taking his words down") by a narrow 199-189 vote, with 26 abstentions. Section 370 lists that as an example of "personal abuse, innuendo or ridicule" that should be avoided, although when push came to shove, the House was unwilling to punish it, even with the largely symbolic time-out. Section 370 also disapproves of Rep. Pete Stark's (D-CA) 2007 statement that President George W. Bush was sending "kids" to Iraq "to get their heads blown off for the President's amusement," but the House also voted down a censure motion against Stark, too.
People in power generally exercise their power under cover of a thin veneer of legality. That' s how it's done. House Rule XVII and Section 370 of Jefferson's Manual say what they say; I get that. But I cannot conceive of any House Rule, or any other legal authority, that would justify telling our elected Members of Congress, both empowered and burdened by their Constitutional authority to impeach, that they should STFU.
Courage,
Alan Grayson
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
