WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 03: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) holds a news conference shortly after the release of the committee's Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry Report at the U.S. Capitol December 03, 2019 in Washington, DC.
On Wednesday, the House voted against a motion to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California). The chamber voted 225-196-7 to table the resolution, with 20 Republicans voting with the Democrats.
As chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff launched the first impeachment inquiry into former president Donald Trump. Trump was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and Republicans now fear Schiff as someone who is willing to investigate Trump’s misconduct. Schiff is currently running for Senate.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida), a known Trump ally, filed a resolution in May to remove Schiff from the House, condemning him for “conduct that misleads the American people in a way that is not befitting an elected Member of the House of Representatives.”
She also proposed a non-binding “whereas” clause that would require Schiff to pay $16 million, should the Ethics Committee find that he “lied, made misrepresentations and abused sensitive information.”
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The accusations against Schiff come from his inquiry into Trump’s relationship with Russia. Supporters of the resolution believe that he, along with FBI officials, launched the investigation without having sufficient evidence to do so.
The probe showed numerous unexplained connections between Trump and the Russian government but did not definitively say that Trump himself had contacts.
Luna brought the matter to the House floor on Tuesday, which Schiff argued was an effort to distract people from the arraignment of Trump that was going on at the same time. The former president was arrested and booked at the Miami federal courthouse for his mishandling of classified documents.
“This partisan resolution to censure and fine me $16 million is only the latest attempt to gratify the former President’s M.A.G.A allies and distract from Donald Trump’s legal troubles by retaliating against me for my role in exposing his abuses of power and leading the first impeachment against him,” wrote Schiff.
This is not the first effort from conservatives to silence Schiff. In January, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy blocked Schiff from serving on the House Select Intelligence Panel.
“Once again, our GOP colleagues are using the leverage and resources of the House majority to rewrite history and promulgate far-right conspiracy theories — all to protect and serve Donald Trump,” wrote Schiff.
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