HEARINGS ON DOWNING STREET MINUTES MOVED TO U.S. CAPITOL

HEARINGS ON DOWNING STREET MINUTES MOVED TO U.S. CAPITOL
AND MOVED TO 2:30

Important Speakers Added to Line-Up at Rally

Citizens urged to lobby Congress Members and Senators, and to meet at DNC, which is serving as overflow room.


On Thursday June 16, 2005, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Room HC-9 of the U.S. Capitol, Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and other Congress Members will hold a hearing on the Downing Street Minutes and related evidence of efforts to cook the books on pre-war intelligence.


The hearings had been planned for the Democratic National Committee offices because the Republicans controlling the House Judiciary Committee had refused to permit the ranking Democratic Member to use a large room on the Hill. http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/UndertheDome/index.html

However, the Democrats did have access to a small room in the Capitol, and Congressman Conyers has decided to move the hearings there. This does not indicate any change in position from the Republicans.

Members of the media will be welcome, but citizens in town for the 5 p.m. rally at the White House will have difficulty getting into the 2:30 hearings.

The DNC will serve as an overflow room, so people can still go there: the Wasserman Room at 430 S Capitol St. SE.

AfterDowningStreet.org encourages people, instead, to spend the afternoon lobbying their Congress Member and two Senators, and paying special visits to the offices of Congressmen John Conyers and Maurice Hinchey, Congresswomen Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey, and Senators John Kerry and Ted Kennedy to thank them for their leadership. Recommended talking points can be found in a one-page document at the top of www.afterdowningstreet.org.


Later on the same day at 5:00 p.m. ET in Lafayette Square Park, in front of the White House, a large rally will support Congressman Conyers who plans to deliver to the White House a letter addressed to President Bush and signed by over 500,000 Americans and at least 94 Congress Members. The letter asks the President to respond to questions raised by the Downing Street Minutes.


Among those speaking at the hearings will be:

Joe Wilson, Former Ambassador and WMD Expert; Ray McGovern, 27-year CIA analyst who prepared regular Presidential briefings during the Reagan administration; Cindy Sheehan, mother of fallen American soldier; John Bonifaz, renowned constitutional lawyer and co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org.


Among those speaking at the rally will be:

Congressman John Conyers (schedule permitting); Congresswoman Barbara Lee (schedule permitting); Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (schedule permitting); Congressman Maurice Hinchey (schedule permitting); Cindy Sheehan, Co-Founder of Gold Star Families for Peace; John Bonifaz, Co-Founder of AfterDowningStreet.org; Medea Benjamin, Co-Founder of Global Exchange; Stephen Cleghorn, Member of Military Families Speak Out; Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Board Member of Progressive Democrats of America; Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst; Reg Keys, Member of Military Families Against the War, challenger to Tony Blair in last election (flying in from UK); William Rivers Pitt, Reporter for Progressive Democrats of America; Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator of United for Peace and Justice; Kevin Zeese, Director of Democracy Rising


More information, and flyers promoting the rally, are available at www.afterdowningstreet.org


Flyers to print, copy, and distribute widely:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/rally.pdf


LOCAL RALLIES PLANNED AROUND COUNTRY

Supporters of this campaign are independently organizing rallies on Thursday at locations around the country.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=211


AfterDowningStreet.org is a rapidly growing coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups, which launched on May 26, 2005, a campaign to urge the U.S. Congress to begin a formal investigation into whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war.


David Swanson david@davidswanson.org 202-329-7847

Jonathan Schwarz jonathan_schwarz@sbcglobal.net 773-296-0838