One of the nice things about my current alienation from the Democratic party is that I no longer have to defend Nancy Pelosi. She abstained from voting on the resolution to send the Kucinich impeachment measure to the Judiciary Committee for hearings. So did Committee Chairman John Conyers, oddly enough.

Nevertheless, the resolution passed and hearings will occur. And they will be televised.

Things now get verrrrry intriguing. Kucinich wants to present a surprise witness:

An unidentified government official of a U.S. ally wants to participate if and when Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich makes his case to impeach President Bush before the House Judiciary Committee, according to the Ohio Democrat.

No matter how the eventual hearing is framed, Kucinich said he would like to be joined at the witness table by a foreign official he would not name.

“I’ve been contacted by representatives of a U.S. ally who are seeking an opportunity to appear before the Judiciary Committee,” he said in an interview.

“Legislative leaders of a foreign capital” have a “new angle that I haven’t thought of before but is relevant,” he said. “This interest in whether we’ve been told the truth has extended to other countries.”

Kucinich would not provide further detail.

What the hell...? This is a most unusual development, one which the big blogs are oddly reticent to discuss. Which allied government are we talking about here? Britain? Israel? Turkey? France? Germany?

Does a fib to a foreigner count as an impeachable offense? I don't think so.

I don't think the yakker at the witness table will be Tony Blair (as some have suggested), since he is not a legislator. Besides, he was pretty much in on the scheme from the word Go. Then again, he did convert to Catholicism: A round of Confession followed by a stiff shot of Exomologesis may be just the tonic his soul needs.

Alas, it remains an open question as to whether Conyers will allow this testimony. His refusal to vote does not bode well.

For what it's worth: One theory holds that Conyers and Pelosi have avoided impeachment because Bush has threatened to launch an attack on Iran if he comes under fire from Congress. I don't believe in that scenario, but I thought I would mention the idea. What do you think?