The way former Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich sees the situation, if President Obama goes around Congress and acts unilaterally on Syria, he risks impeachment for going against the Constitution.
On Hannity Friday night, guest host Tucker Carlson had Kucinich on the show to discuss the following tweet, which links to a Washington Post article about how the administration is insisting that President Obama “has both the authority and determination to make his own decision on a military strike against Syria.”
200 in #Congress demand #Syria vote. #Constitution art.1 sec.8 -@BarackObama risking #Impeachment? (@washingtonposthttp://t.co/f12uDY3TTu)
— Dennis Kucinich (@Dennis_Kucinich) August 30, 2013
Not so, says Kucinich, and the president risks impeachment if he does. “There is no imminent or actual threat to the United States of America. If there was, then people expect the president to defend us. But in this case the president is going on his own," Kucinich explains.
“It’s not ‘I the President,’ it’s ‘We the People of the United States,’ Kucinich says after quoting the president saying earlier on Friday: “I meant what I said, I have not made a final decision.” Kucinich points to Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, which says only Congress has the power to take America to war. “That’s a fundamental principle and if the president throws that away, disregards that I think there will be consequences for him,” he said.
H/T: Mediaite