Vermont votes to impeach Bush

Vermont - Vermont senators voted on Friday to call for the impeachment of President George W Bush and vice-president Dick Cheney, saying their actions in Iraq and the US "raise serious questions of constitutionality".

The non-binding resolution was approved 16-9 without debate - all six Republicans in the chamber at the time and three Democrats voted against it.

The resolution was the latest, symbolic, effort in the state to impeach Bush.

In March, 40 towns in the state known for its liberal leaning voted in favour of similar, non-binding resolutions at their annual meetings.

State lawmakers in Wisconsin and Washington have pushed for similar resolutions.

The resolution says Bush and Cheney's actions in the US and abroad, including in Iraq, "raise serious questions of constitutionality, statutory legality, and abuse of the public trust".

"I think it's going to have a tremendous political effect, a tremendous political effect on public discourse about what to do about this president," said James Leas, a vocal advocate of withdrawing troops from Iraq and impeaching Bush and Cheney.

Vermont lawmakers earlier voted to demand an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq in another non-binding resolution.

Democratic house speaker Gaye Symington has kept a similar resolution from reaching the floor in her chamber.