John Bonifaz - Constitutional Challenge and Hearings On US Invasion of Iraq

Constitutional Challenge and Hearings On US Invasion of Iraq

In February and March 2003, Mr. Bonifaz served as lead counsel for a coalition of US soldiers, parents of US soldiers, and Members of Congress in John Doe I v. President Bush, a constitutional challenge to President Bush’s authority to wage war against Iraq absent a congressional declaration of war or equivalent action. He argued that the President’s planned first-strike invasion of Iraq violated the War Powers Clause of the US Constitution. The lawsuit was initially dismissed in February 2003 and in March 2003 the dismissal was upheld on appeal. Regarding the initial dismissal, Attorney Bonifaz said "They’re not supposed to sideline... Courts cannot shirk from responsibility when it looks like a political battle." Regarding the affirmation of the dismissal, the appeals court held "...the text of the October Resolution itself spells out justifications for a war and frames itself as an 'authorization' of such a war."

Bonifaz wrote the 2004 book Warrior-King: The Case for Impeaching George W. Bush, which chronicles that case and its meaning for the United States Constitution. The book argues that the Iraq War was illegal.

In the aftermath of the release of the Downing Street Memo in 2005, Bonifaz co-founded After Downing Street and wrote a memo to Congressman John Conyers of Michigan, the Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, urging him to introduce a Resolution of Inquiry directing the House Judiciary Committee to launch a formal investigation into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House to impeach President George W. Bush. Bonifaz participated in a discussion with former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern led by Rep. Conyers, advocating Bush's impeachment for misrepresenting the case for the Iraq war.