Representative Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, right, pauses while speaking as ranking member Representative Devin Nunes, a Republican from California, left, listens during a hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, March 28, 2019.
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The House of Representatives rejected a motion to censure House Intelligence chair Adam Schiff after Republican criticism that Schiff lied to Congress during a September 27th hearing.
The resolution, introduced by Arizona Republican Andy Biggs and co-sponsored by 182 members of the Republican caucus, claimed Schiff manufactured a “false retelling” of the July 25 phone call between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelensky, which is now at the center of an impeachment inquiry facing President Trump.
The resolution stated that Schiff’s retelling, which Schiff himself characterized as a “parody” of Trump’s call with Zelensky, “had no relationship to the call itself” and “br[ought] disrepute upon the House of Representatives, and ma[de] a mockery of the impeachment process, one of this chamber’s most solemn constitutional duties.”
The censure vote is the latest attempt from Republicans to rebuke Schiff. Trump and and the GOP have painted Schiff as a partisan operative hellbent on removing Trump from office.
Schiff, a key player in the impeachment inquiry started by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in late September, is a frequent target of Republicans in the media and government.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was on the call between Zelensky and Trump, said Schiff should be “embarrassed” by his conduct and accused him of running a “kangaroo court” in an interview with ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
Schiff has also repeatedly drawn the ire of Trump, who tweeted his approval of the resolution on Monday.
Trump also called for Schiff’s resignation last week, and suggested Schiff should be investigated for his work in probing President Trump on the Intel Committee.
