Posted on 03/31/2010 5:29:51 AM PDT by EternalVigilance
From March 16, 2010 AIPNews.com report:
On March 31, at approximately 10 am on the Floor of the House of Delegates, Delegate Don Dwyer will be bringing Articles of Impeachment against Maryland's Attorney General Doug Gansler. In an email to supporters this afternoon, Delegate Dwyer explains why the Attorney General should be impeached:
Maryland in Constitutional Crisis
Maryland recently recognized same sex marriages for the purpose of marital benefits.
The recognition of same sex marriages performed in other states was not enacted by the Maryland legislature nor was it mandated by Maryland courts; rather it was the independent decision of Maryland's Attorney General Douglas Gansler, released on February 24, 2010.
Because this was a blatant attack on Maryland's current law that states: "Only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid in this state" and because this action is clearly a violation of the separation of powers related to the three branches of government, the Attorney General was put on public notice that impeachment charges were being drafted.
As if the Attorney General was not in enough hot water, on March 1, 2010 HE DECLARED HIMSELF UNIMPEACHABLE in an attempt to thwart any attempt by the legislature to hold him accountable for usurping their authority. Unbelievably, the Attorney General went to a subordinate member of his staff, Mr. Dan Friedman to write the letter addressed to Maryland's Speaker of the House, stating that the Attorney General could not be removed by impeachment.
- - -
Maryland Constitution
Article 3. Sec. 26
The House of Delegates shall have the sole power of impeachment in all cases.
- - -
Mr. Gansler's actions have put Maryland in a constitutional crisis. The highest law officer in the state who is an elected member of the executive branch of government has violated his Oath of Office and has revealed his incompetence, and his willful neglect of duty. As a constitutional officer, he must ensure that the provisions of the State and U.S. Constitutions are upheld in all cases, including a constitutional charge against him.
Attorney General Gansler testified in his official capacity two years ago in support of a gay marriage bill. He said that it would be hard to not try to correct an injustice in the law. His testimony publicly revealed his partial and prejudiced position on the subject of same sex marriage. Mr. Gansler violated his oath of office in which he swore to perform his duties in an impartial and unprejudiced manner.
After revealing his bias on the issue, he was asked by a member of the Senate to advise on the legality of Maryland recognizing same sex marriage contracted in other states. Despite the fact that the Office of the Attorney General addressed that very same question in 2004, and despite the fact that no court ruling, or legislation has overturned that 2004 opinion, Mr. Gansler released a "new" opinion in which he "interprets" the law as supporting the legality of recognizing out of state same sex marriages.
In short, the Attorney General decided that a standing Maryland law is an "injustice" and subsequently misused the authority of his office to effectively change the law without having gone through the legislative process defined in the Maryland constitution.
If this goes unchallenged, the next Attorney General is likely to follow this precedent and usurp the authority of the legislature based on his personal bias. As result, citizens will no longer have the representation that is provided them under the Constitution.
The stage is now set in Maryland for a Constitutional show down. On March 31st a charge of impeachment will be brought before the Maryland House of Delegates at roughly 10:05 am. The House Speaker has publicly stated that he will rule the charge out of order citing the opinion that the Attorney General cannot be impeached as the authority for the out of order ruling.
Regardless of your personal view on same sex marriage, the recent activities of the Maryland Attorney General should give us reason to pause. Again, the Maryland Attorney General has taken for himself; the powers vested in the legislature and declared himself unimpeachable and unaccountable to the citizens of Maryland?
Constitutionally Yours,
Delegate Don Dwyer, Jr.
Member, Maryland House of Delegates
- - -
Delegate Dwyer asks that you please consider coming to Annapolis that morning in a public show of support for upholding the Constitution. Signs or posters without sticks are permissible outside, but must be discarded before you enter the State House.
Prior stories on impeachment case against Attorney General Gansler are available on AIP News:
* 2009-12-26: Maryland - impeachment of state Attorney General called for by AIP-endorsed Del. Dwyer
* 2010-02-24: Maryland - Attorney General Opinion on recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states
* 2010-03-03: Gansler’s office: Gansler can’t be impeached (highlights from Baltimore Sun reporter and readers)
* 2010-03-04: Maryland's attorney general should be impeached (Delegate Dwyer's op ed in The Examiner, Washington DC)
* 2010-03-05: Maryland - Gov. O'Malley's rush to recognize same-sex marriage is wrong on the law
The 8 AM news on WMAL radio in Washington DC included a story about today's expected happenings in Annapolis. Maryland state House Speaker Busch is reported to have said that Del. Dwyer's articles of impeachment will be ruled out of order and that, if necessary, Del. Dwyer will be removed from the chamber. The story also included an audio clip of Del. Dwyer saying that he has every right to bring articles of impeachment and that if the Speaker rules them out of order, the Speaker himself will be committing the High crime of obstruction of justice.
They may deem themselves above the law but they are still but mortal men.
None of these links appear to be active.
Sorry. Not sure why that is. I copied the code exactly.
In any case, if you’ll simply cut and paste the headline into a search engine, it will link you properly to the AIPNews story mentioned. I just tried it and the stories are there.
You betcha.
* 2009-12-26: Maryland - impeachment of state Attorney General called for by AIP-endorsed Del. Dwyer
* 2010-02-24: Maryland - Attorney General Opinion on recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states
* 2010-03-03: Gansler’s office: Gansler can’t be impeached (highlights from Baltimore Sun reporter and readers)
* 2010-03-04: Maryland's attorney general should be impeached (Delegate Dwyer's op ed in The Examiner, Washington DC)
* 2010-03-05: Maryland - Gov. O'Malley's rush to recognize same-sex marriage is wrong on the law
This actually should like it should be fun. Please keep me posted.
Is a Del House or Senate?
Got it, House
I called the committee and Del. Dwyer's office. The 3 pm hearing appears to be on, and Del. Dwyer is urging Marylanders, if at all possible, to come now and attend the hearing. Annapolis is about an hour away for me. Hope to see you there! Before I head out, I'm calling my delegates to let them know that impeachment deserves a vote on the House floor because the usurpation of legislature's authority by the Attorney General is a serious constitutional breach. An easy way to get your delegates phone numbers is to use the "Who Are Your Elected Officials?" feature near the top of the page at MarylandIndependentParty.org
I live in California - Maryland is full of idiots that lowered pass in school down to 60.
Just fun to watch.
It’s not so fun close-up. The notice on some bank windows here last year — that they would not accept California state IOUs as deposits anymore — was probably easier for me to just shake my head in wonder than it was for your fellow Californians.
And yes, Speaker Busch did indeed send the impeachment charges to languish in the judiciary committee.
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
Maryland: a state that Kahleefornians can laugh at.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.