The US House of Representatives voted Wednesday to formally censure Congressmember Adam Schiff over accusations of misleading the American people over claims that candidate Donald Trump was colluding with Russia, and for actions he took prior to Trumps first impeachment after he became president.
The claims over Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia were debunked last month with the release of special counsel John Durham’s report on the matter in which the Department of Justice concluded that although Russia had indeed intervened in the 2016 presidential election, there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy.
“Representative Schiff purposely deceived his Committee, Congress and the American people,” the resolution stated.
The censure required Schiff to stand before the House for a verbal rebuke by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). But McCarthy only managed to get through part of the document before he was forced to leave the chamber as Democrats heckled and interrupted him.
The resolution, which passed along party lines in a vote of 213-209, also directs the House Ethics Committee to investigate Schiff’s actions.
Schiff “launched an all-out political campaign against a sitting president,” said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who sponsored the resolution, adding that as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, which he led, he had “abused this trust by saying there was evidence of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia.”
The disgraced Congressmember was removed from the committee earlier this year by Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
A defiant Schiff thanked Republican lawmakers for passing the resolution, saying they “flattered” him with their “falsehood” and saying their words meant that he has “been effective in the defense of our democracy, and I am grateful.”
