• When he was chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff announced sweeping probe into Trump’s finances and Russia

The House voted Wednesday, June 21, to censure California Rep. Adam Schiff for comments he made several years ago about investigations into Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, rebuking the Democrat and frequent critic of the former president along party lines.

Schiff becomes the 25th House lawmaker to be censured. He was defiant ahead of the vote, saying he will wear the formal disapproval as a “badge of honor” and charging his GOP colleagues of doing the former president’s bidding.

“I will not yield,” Schiff, who is running for the Senate in California, said during debate over the measure. “Not one inch.”

When it was time for Schiff to come to the front of the chamber to be formally censured, immediately after the vote, the normally solemn ceremony turned into more of a celebratory atmosphere. Dozens of Democrats crowded to the front, clapping and cheering for Schiff and patting him on the back. They chanted “No!,” “Shame!” and “Adam! Adam!”

“Censure all of us,” one Democrat yelled.

The effort to censure Schiff, a key figure in the House investigations into Trump, cleared a key procedural obstacle on Wednesday after a vote to kill the legislation failed.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, led the effort with a revamped measure on the House floor for his role in the Russia probe and investigating Trump after a similar measure she backed failed last week.

The resolution accuses Schiff of misleading the American people while pursuing the congressional investigation into Russia and the Trump campaign as the then-chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and for actions Schiff took leading up to the former president’s first impeachment. Schiff has dismissed the allegations as “false and defamatory.”

“By repeatedly telling these falsehoods, Representative Schiff purposely deceived his Committee, Congress, and the American people,” the resolution said.

Luna announced Tuesday she had secured the number of votes needed to censure and refer him to the House Ethics Committee.

“I have called up my censure motion and will be bringing the vote to hold Adam Schiff accountable to the floor tomorrow,” Luna tweeted Tuesday night.

The original resolution put forward by Luna failed last week after 20 Republicans voted to table the measure and two voted “present,” but after some tweaks made by Luna in consultation with GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, including axing a $16 million fine attached to the legislation, the measure gained more support. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who opposed the motion last week, told CNN on Tuesday that he was in favor of the new version and is assisting Luna in her whip effort.

Schiff represents a broad swath of communities centered in Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley that include Pasadena, Sunland-Tujunga, Burbank, Glendale, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Silver Lake, Echo Park, Fairfax, Park La Brea and Hancock Park.

Some House Republicans voted against the measure last week over concern of constitutionality and fear it could spark a tit-for-tat. Several House Republicans that voted to kill the resolution signaled they would support the new resolution, although several GOP lawmakers admitted to CNN they are concerned that the repeated attempts are boosting Schiff’s fundraising for his Senate candidacy.

“I voted to table the resolution as it had provisions that were unconstitutional and did not allow for due process of law. Should a constitutional version of the resolution be brought back for a vote, I will support it,” New York freshman Mike Lawler tweeted last week.

Conservatives like Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio were eager to censure him. “I look forward to censuring him next week for his lies,” Davidson said last week.

On Tuesday Schiff said, “They wouldn’t be going after me if they didn’t think I was effective.”

“Now Trump is threatening to primary any Republican that doesn’t vote for it. It shows you just who is behind this whole effort to distract from Trump’s legal problems is Trump,” Schiff told CNN. “But to waste the floors time on this false and defamatory resolution is a disservice to the country.”

While serving as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff announced a sweeping investigation in February 2019 into then-President Trump’s finances and Russia.

Schiff also served as the lead House impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment. In that role, Schiff and the other impeachment managers detailed the House’s case for removing Trump from office at the Senate trial. The Senate ultimately voted to acquit.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Tuesday told CNN he was confident the resolution would pass this time. “I expect it will pass, yes,” he said.

Source: Associated Press and CNN, sbsun.com/2023/06/21/revived-effort-to-censure-schiff-clears-key-hurdle-ahead-of-final-vote/