In a party-line vote, the House on Wednesday censured California Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff for amplifying false claims that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia.
In 2017, Schiff read portions of the bogus Steele dossier into the Congressional Record, and continued as late as 2019 to insist there was “ample evidence of collusion in plain sight” although investigators found none.
Following the 213-209 vote, with six GOP members opting to vote “present,” Democrats surrounded House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, crowding near the dais and chanting “Shame” as he attempted to read the resolution.
“I have all night,” McCarthy said as he tried to ask for Schiff to present himself so he could be censured.
The Democrats' tantrum lasted for roughly five minutes before McCarthy was allowed to speak.
Schiff has decried the censorship efforts as “false and defamatory.” He also dubbed it a “badge of honor.”
“You honor me with your enmity. You flatter me with this falsehood,” Schiff said on the floor Wednesday. “Today I wear this partisan vote as a badge of honor, knowing that I have lived my oath.”
Critics say that, if Schiff's oath was to continuously lie to the American public, he certainly did live it.
Schiff long knew the Steele dossier "was an oppo-research document paid for by the Clinton campaign and the DNC," National Review's David Harsanyi noted. "And yet he continued to profess that the central assertion of the dossier — that the Trump campaign had colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 campaign — was not only possible but a fact. He did so on numerous occasions and with great certitude. Every time he did, it was a lie."
Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert said on Wednesday: “If Adam Schiff has a shred of human decency left, he would resign from Congress in disgrace. His tombstone should read of his failed career in Congress and should be one word: LIAR.”
An initial resolution to censure Schiff failed 225-196 last week, with 20 Republicans voting to kill the effort.
Last week's resolution featured a provision to fine Schiff $16 million, half of the money taxpayers doled out for special counsel Robert Mueller’s collusion probe, according to Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who sponsored both bills.
The resolution voted on Wednesday scrapped the fine and made other modifications to win over GOP members like Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who opposed the initial version.
Where were the arrests?
These unruly Democrats broke several laws—disorderly conduct, civil disorder, using loud language in the Capitol—and I’m often told NO ONE is above the law. https://t.co/eJHwvkLY0p pic.twitter.com/JZMf2O72ae — Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) June 22, 2023
Membership . . . . Intelligence . . . . Publish
