OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The majority of House members censured California Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff late last month, and as a result, he entered American history — though not in a good way.
Schiff was forced to stand in front of Congress and endure the humiliation of his colleagues, becoming one of just two dozen members of Congress since the nation’s establishment to receive a censure.
Despite Republicans calling on Schiff to resign, he’s now using his censure to fuel his U.S. Senate campaign.
“Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who was censured by House Republicans last month, raised $8.1 million for his Senate campaign in the second quarter of 2023. The California Democrat finished the quarter with nearly $30 million in cash on hand, after receiving contributions from more than 144,000 unique donors, according to his campaign,” The Hill reported.
The California Democrat called the censure a “badge of honor” and fundraised off the vote.
“Today, I wear this partisan vote as a badge of honor,” Schiff said. “Knowing that I have lived my oath. Knowing that I have done my duty, to hold a dangerous and out-of-control president accountable. And knowing that I would do so again — in a heartbeat — if the circumstances should ever require it.”
The effort to censure Schiff began with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who labeled him a “criminal” for allegedly leveraging his former position as head of the House Intelligence Committee to falsely accuse former President Donald Trump of “colluding” with Russia to undermine the 2016 election.
During an interview on Fox News earlier this month, Paulina Luna discussed the House Oversight Committee’s ongoing efforts to hold former Schiff accountable for lying about the Trump-Russia investigation without any significant evidence to back claims of alleged collusion.
“I will speak to Adam Schiff. Maria, I have a privileged resolution that I’m bringing to the floor, and we are going to fine that man 16 million dollars for using his position to lie to the American people and ultimately push something that not only destroyed our country but ripped us apart and I believe, maybe even permanently damaging foreign relations. He is a criminal, and Adam Schiff, you will be held accountable,” Luna said.
“And yet, he was privileged to information that not even I or many of my colleagues would be able to see,” Luna went on to say. “He used that position. He absolutely aided and abetted a corrupt FBI into investigating a sitting president.”
“Adam Schiff lied to the American people. He used his position on House Intelligence to push a lie that cost American taxpayers millions of dollars and abused the trust placed in him as Chairman. He is a dishonor to the House of Representatives. The Durham Report makes clear that the Russian Collusion was a lie from day one and Schiff knowingly used his position in an attempt to divide our country,” she added.
A few days ago, the conservative Center for Renewing America filed a complaint to the Office of Congressional Ethics requesting an investigation into Schiff over his repeated and false claims for years that he had evidence Trump was essentially a stooge for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The request comes after Schiff, who previously led the House Intelligence Committee, pushed unproven allegations of Trump-Russia collusion for years and touted British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s discredited dossier,” the Washington Examiner reported.
“Those claims came under renewed scrutiny earlier this year after the release of the Durham report, which concluded the FBI had no proper basis for launching the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump and Russia in 2016,” the outlet added.
In its complaint, the Center for Renewing American requested that the ethics office “impose appropriate disciplinary and remedial action—up to and including expulsion” of Schiff.
“On May 15, 2023, Special Counsel John Durham released a 300-page report on matters arising from the 2016 election (‘Durham Report’). The Durham Report detailed how the Clinton campaign concocted false allegations regarding supposed ‘collusion’ between the Trump campaign and Russia. These baseless claims were funneled to credulous media outlets, the intelligence community, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (‘FBI’)—which opened an investigation despite possessing NO evidence of collusion. According to CNN, ‘Special Counsel John Durham conclude[d] [that the] FBI never should have launched [the] full Trump-Russia probe,’” it said.
“The Clinton campaign’s fabricated collusion narrative has had no greater champion than Schiff, whose dedication to perpetuating the Russia Hoax without regard for the truth repeatedly violated the requirement, in clause 1 of House Rule XXIII, that ‘[a] Member . . . of the House shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House,’” it said.
