Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and manager in Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, was formally censured by the House on Wednesday in a party-line vote.
Wednesday’s vote on the no-confidence resolution was 213 to 209. All the votes in favor came from republicans while democrats provided all “no” votes. Six Republicans voted “present.”
After the vote, a large group of House Democrats gathered near the Speaker’s podium, where Schiff would appear to be censured, and chanted “shame, shame!”
The no-confidence vote was the surprising end to a two-week quest by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) to have Schiff officially reprimanded for various statements and actions that her resolution alleged were unfair to Trump. she had offered a similar resolution last weekbut it was postponed after 20 Republicans, possibly concerned by his suggestion to fine Schiff, walked across the aisle to vote with Democrats.
Luna’s nearly identical new resolution, minus the fancy language, said Schiff had “abused” his position as a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee by spreading “false allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.” ” in 2016. He also made other allegations against Schiff.
While a special counsel and an inspector general found fault with some procedural aspects of how the FBI’s 2016 investigation into the Trump campaign began, there is no dispute that the The Russians took “active steps” to interfere in the 2016 US election and that a high-ranking Trump campaign agent, Paul Manafort, worked with a russian agent giving you data from campaign polls.
Schiff, who is running for the Senate, defended himself on the House floor, saying he had done his duty to warn Americans about the danger Trump posed to national security.
“They honor me with their enmity,” he said of the Republicans. “You will never dissuade me from doing my duty.”
Schiff specifically referred to Manafort’s actions as one of the activities that constituted collusion and said the Republicans refused to be honest about it.
“That should not be called collusion, although that is its proper name, as the country knows well,” he said.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who was a manager in Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial, said the effort to reprimand Schiff was evidence of the GOP collapsing into an “authoritarian cult of personality.” .
“We don’t censor members for a difference of opinion,” he said.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) supported the resolution and accused Schiff of bias in investigating Trump and his campaign activities.
“I was rushed. He was prejudiced. And he was wrong,” Ogles said.
Schiff’s censure was a victory for Trump, who had posted a list of 20 Republicans who had helped Democrats derail Luna’s resolution on his social media site last week. The fan called them “the 20 cowards”.
When the first resolution was filed, Luna said he feared some of his fellow Republicans hadn’t fully read the 574-word document or were scared off by the suggestion that Schiff be fined $16 million.
The 20 Republicans who voted to introduce the resolution last week voted against introducing the new one on Wednesday.
Luna’s resolution, supported by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who suggested punishing Schiff the day serial liar Rep. George Santos (RN.Y.) was indicted. , can open the floodgates to other equally symbolic resolutions.
Right-wing Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has already filed an impeachment resolution against President Joe Bidenonly to be accused of cheating by right-wing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.).
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