Impeaching Lloyd James Austin III, Secretary of Defense, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

Bill: 118-hres-666
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Mills, Cory [R-FL-7]
Introduced: 2023-08-25
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Latest action: action_date: 2023-08-25
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-08-25
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>This resolution impeaches Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for high crimes and misdemeanors for actions taken with respect to the 2021 U.S. withdrawal  from Afghanistan.</p>

tv_txt: IV 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 666 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES August 25, 2023 Mr. Mills (for himself, Mr. Posey , Mrs. Miller of Illinois , and Mrs. Luna ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Impeaching Lloyd James Austin III, Secretary of Defense, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

That Lloyd James Austin III, Secretary of Defense, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate: Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against Lloyd James Austin III, Secretary of Defense, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors. Article I: Dereliction of Duty Including and Resulting in Abandonment of Americans in Afghanistan The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives shall have the sole Power of Impeachment and that all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors . In his conduct while Secretary of Defense, and in violation of his constitutional oath to defend and secure our country and uphold the Constitution, taken on January 22, 2021, Lloyd James Austin III engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors through his dereliction of his duties and intentional abandonment of Americans in Afghanistan, in that: Secretary Austin took an oath to defend and secure our country and uphold the Constitution when he was sworn in as Secretary of Defense on January 22, 2021. Article II of the United States Constitution tasks the executive branch with ensuring the laws passed by Congress and signed into law by the President are faithfully executed. Despite having nearly 8 months as Secretary of Defense to prepare for and execute a smooth and orderly departure from Afghanistan, Secretary Austin failed to adequately prepare for such a withdrawal, including through his decisions during the catastrophic events of July and August 2021, which initially resulted in as many as 9,000 American citizens being abandoned in Afghanistan. These actions recklessly abandoned the interests, security, and values of the United States of America, and contributed to the unnecessary deaths of 13 United States servicemembers, as well as uncounted American civilians who were targeted and murdered by the Taliban. During the night of July 1, 2021, Bagram Air Base was secretly evacuated, which was subsequently de facto turned over to Afghan Government control without notice to them. Because the United States Armed Forces, which were under the direction of Secretary Austin and President Biden, as Commander in Chief, abandoned Bagram Air Base and the prison facilities associated with it without ensuring its persisting security throughout the remaining duration of the United States presence in the country, thousands of Taliban prisoners were freed. One of these prisoners, Abdul Rehman Al-Loghri, was an ISIS–K terrorist who detonated a bomb outside Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA), killing 13 United States servicemembers and at least 170 Afghans. The strategic disadvantages of HKIA as a headquarters for the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, as compared to Bagram Air Base, were blatantly apparent, and Secretary Austin’s decision to evacuate the base in preference for HKIA caused cascading failures in the withdrawal that represent a gross neglect for his constitutional duties to the national security of the United States and provide for the reasonable safety of the servicemembers entrusted to his leadership. Further, though the Taliban failed to uphold the negotiated agreement providing the foundation for the drawdown of United States military forces from Afghanistan, Secretary Austin failed in his responsibility to modify the strategy or logistics related to the removal of United States military personnel from Afghanistan, including to delay the United States drawdown or otherwise mitigate persisting threats posed by the Taliban and their affiliated forces to the United States. Instead, Secretary Austin forced an arbitrary withdrawal deadline of September 11, despite substantial evidence and other intelligence being available that the United States lacked the capabilities to effectively implement this deadline without assuming significant costs, including of American lives. Secretary Austin’s strategic and moral blindness to the glaring flaws in the withdrawal strategy represents an extraordinary dereliction of his duties to the Constitution and to the people of the United States of America. Wherefore, Lloyd James Austin III, by such conduct, has forsaken his sworn duties to the United States of America, its national security, and its people, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with the Constitution and the Office of Secretary of Defense. Lloyd James Austin III thus warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office.