On Wednesday, the Republican-controlled House reportedly voted against formally reprimanding Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) for exaggerating allegations of collusion between Russia and former President Donald Trump.
Twenty Republicans joined a majority of Democrats in voting 225-196 to table the resolution to censure and condemn Schiff, while seven legislators voted “present” and five did not vote.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) introduced and referred to the House Ethics Committee the privileged resolution intended for expedited consideration.
The four-page resolution primarily accused Schiff of abusing his position and spreading false information regarding the Russia matter, but it also mentioned issues related to the Trump impeachment investigation centered on Ukraine.
However, a clause stating that Schiff should be fined millions of dollars if the ethics panel finds that he deceived and misused sensitive information appeared to be a stumbling point among GOP holdouts.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) stated that Schiff acted “unethically,” but that the measure was unconstitutional because it would contravene the Eighth and Twenty-Seventh Amendments.
Republicans have long accused Schiff, who served as committee chairman for four years, of being a habitual liar, especially due to his insistence that there was evidence of collusion.
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