Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California), former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and responsible for Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, was formally censured by the House on Wednesday in a party vote.
Wednesday’s vote on the no-confidence resolution was 213 to 209. All yes votes 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 President’s dais, where Schiff was due to appear to be censured, and shouted “shame, shame!”
The vote of no confidence was the unsurprising end to a two-week quest by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) to have Schiff formally reprimanded for various statements and actions that her resolution allegedly deemed unfair to Trump. she had offered a similar resolution last weekbut he was tabled after 20 Republicans, perhaps concerned about his suggestion to fine Schiff, crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats.
Luna’s nearly identical new resolution, minus the nice language, said Schiff had “abused” his position as a top member of the House Intelligence Committee by spreading “false accusations that the Trump campaign was colluding.” with Russia” in 2016. He also made other allegations against Schiff.
Although a special prosecutor and an inspector general criticized certain procedural aspects of the start of the 2016 FBI investigation into the Trump campaign, it is indisputable that the The Russians took ‘active steps’ to interfere in the 2016 US election and that a high-ranking Trump campaign operative, Paul Manafort, worked with a Russian agent giving him campaign poll data.
Schiff, who is running for the Senate, defended himself in the House, saying he did his duty to warn Americans of the danger Trump posed to national security.
“You honor me with your enmity,” he said of Republicans. “You will never prevent me from doing my duty.”
Schiff specifically referenced Manafort’s actions among activities that constituted collusion and said Republicans refused to be honest about it.
“You shouldn’t call it collusion, even if that’s its proper name, as the country well knows,” he said.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who was responsible for Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial, said the effort to reprimand Schiff was evidence of the Republican Party’s collapse into an “authoritarian cult of personality”.
“We don’t censor members on a difference of opinion,” he said.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) supported the resolution, accusing Schiff of bias during the investigation of Trump and his campaign activities.
“He was in a hurry. He had prejudices. And he was wrong,” Ogles said.
Schiff’s censure was a win for Trump, who last week posted a list of supporters of the 20 Republicans who helped Democrats derail Luna’s resolve on his social media site. The supporter called them “the cowards 20”.
Luna said when filing the first resolution that she was concerned that some of her Republican colleagues hadn’t fully read the 574-word document or were spooked by its suggestion that Schiff be fined $16 million. .
All 20 Republicans who voted to table the resolution last week voted against tabling the new one on Wednesday.
Luna’s resolution — backed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who suggested punishing Schiff the day serial liar Rep. George Santos (RN.Y.) has been charged – could open the floodgates for other equally symbolic resolutions.
Already, right-wing Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has filed an impeachment resolution against President Joe Bidenonly to be accused of copying by fellow right-wing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.).