(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Some adults in the United States believe their president and vice-president should face legal action, according to a poll by InsiderAdvantage. 39 per cent of respondents favour the impeachment by Congress of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, while 55 per cent are opposed.

In the U.S., the federal process for impeachment begins with a vote in the House of Representatives, followed by a trial in the Senate. Only two American presidents—Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998—have been impeached by the lower house. Both Johnson and Clinton were later acquitted by the upper house. In April 1974, Richard Nixon resigned after impeachment hearings had started.

Several Democratic lawmakers—including Michigan congressman John Conyers, California senator Barbara Boxer and Georgia congressman John Lewis—have openly discussed Bush's impeachment, either for not telling the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, or for authorizing the National Security Agency (NSA) to wiretap the telephone calls and e-mails of Americans suspected of having terrorist ties.

In March 2006, Democratic Wisconsin senator Russ Feingold officially introduced a resolution to censure Bush for the NSA secret domestic electronic surveillance program. In 1834, Andrew Jackson became the only U.S. president to be censured for removing the nation's money from a private bank in defiance of the Senate.

Last month, Democratic Pennsylvania congressman John Murtha said impeachment is "one of the ways Congress has to influence the president."

Polling Data

Would you favour or oppose the impeachment by Congress of U.S. president George W. Bush and vice-president Dick Cheney?

Favour
39%

Oppose
55%

Undecided
6%


http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/15689

A