Schiff censored for role in allegations against Trump
House Republicans censured Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Wednesday, handing down one of the chamber’s harshest penalties to the California Democrat for his role in investigating former President Donald Trump.
The measure passed by a 213-209 party-line vote, with six Republicans voted present.
The censure, a rarely used move typically reserved for severe infractions by lawmakers, passed the House after a similar attempt failed last week, when some Republican lawmakers balked at a possible $16 million fine that would be included in the resolution. The resolution this week did not include a fine.
Schiff becomes the 25th member of the House to be censured in the country’s history. The move will also open an ethics investigation.
The censure of Schiff, who has been a popular target of GOP attacks, comes after he was one of the lead congressional investigators during the Trump administration. Schiff chaired the House Intelligence Committee and was the lead House impeachment manager for Trump’s first impeachment.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who offered the censure, and Republicans argue that Schiff used his investigative positions to lie about Trump’s connections to Russia and possible collusion between the country and Trump’s campaign.
The censure resolution accuses Schiff of abusing the trust given to him in his role as a member of Congress and chair of the Intel Committee by alleging that he had evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
“To be clear, this is not retribution,” Luna said in a statement before the vote. “It is well within my right as a Congresswoman to file a privileged motion and hold Adam Schiff accountable for abusing and exploiting his official position and bringing dishonor to the House of Representatives.”
But Democrats say the censure is an attempt to deflect from the legal troubles of Trump. The censure resolution that failed last week was killed just one day after Trump became the first sitting or former president to be indicted on federal charges. A group of 20 Republicans joined Democrats to table the resolution last week.
Censures have not happened often throughout congressional history. Most recently, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Az.) was censured and removed from committees in 2021 for posting a violent video on Twitter targeting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and President Joe Biden. But a censure in the chamber had not happened for more than a decade before Gosar’s censure.
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It looks like all of the Democrats are OK with the use of false charges against Trump. Since Trump was elected the Democrats have been trying to criminalize him, impeach him, and keep him out of office. Schiff was one of the most vociferous in this effort.
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