When such Bush Administration wrongdoings are brought up publicly, Republican lawmakers often say that since the Congressional leaders known as the Gang of Eight did not express concern at the closed hearings that they are complicit in the condoning of torture, an opinion mentioned again at today's hearings.
In at least one way, these were the impeachment hearings that weren't.
Despite the name of his book, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, witness Vincent Bugliosi, author and former deputy district attorney, did not necessarily support the formation of impeachment hearings.
"Once he leaves office he could be criminally prosecuted for any crimes he had committed while in office," he said. "I've never suggested he could be prosecuted for murder while he was in office."
Many resolutions were suggested, including a bill to limit the president's authority to pardon of members of his administration.
You pay on time and stay within your limit, and your rate can still spike. How can that possibly happen?
But there are growing indications that these known abuses of power may only be the tip of the iceberg. Now, in the twilight of the Bush presidency, a movement is stirring in Washington for a sweeping new inquiry into White House malfeasance that would be modeled after the famous Church Committee congressional investigation of the 1970s. 
Karl Rove has threatened a GOP high-tech guru and his wife, if he does not "'take the fall' for election fraud in Ohio," according to a letter sent this morning to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, by Ohio election attorney Cliff Arnebeck.
