Democrats chant on the House floor, applaud Adam Schiff after Republicans vote to slap him with censure resolution



A slim majority of House lawmakers voted on Wednesday to censure Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California.

The measure passed along party lines, with 213 Republicans voting for it and 209 Democrats voting against it. Six GOP lawmakers voted present.

After House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the results of the vote, people began chanting in the congressional chamber.

U.S. House Censures Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) www.youtube.com

The resolution states that "the House of Representatives censures Adam Schiff ... for misleading the American public and for conduct unbecoming of an elected Member of the House of Representatives."

It states that the congressman "will forthwith present himself in the well of the House of Representatives for the pronouncement of censure" and "be censured with the public reading of this resolution by the Speaker." The censure also states that "the Committee on Ethics shall conduct an investigation into Representative Adam Schiff's falsehoods, misrepresentations, and abuses of sensitive information."

After McCarthy requested for Schiff to "present himself in the well," Democrats began applauding their colleague and then started chanting again.

When McCarthy sought to read the censure resolution, Democrats repeatedly interrupted.

Schiff, who has served in the House for more than two decades, is currently running for a U.S. Senate seat in the Golden State. Multiple candidates are vying to fill the seat that will be vacated by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who will not seek re-election in 2024.

"You honor me with your enmity. You flatter me with this falsehood," Schiff said during remarks ahead of the censure vote on Wednesday. "You who are the authors of a big lie about the last election must condemn the truth tellers. And I stand proudly before you."

To my Republican colleagues who introduced this sham resolution: You honor me with your enmity.

You flatter me with this falsehood.

Your words tell me that I have been effective in the defense of our democracy, and I am grateful. pic.twitter.com/ATVFDLaUYT
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) June 21, 2023

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'Schiff just hit the fan': House Republicans poised to censure Rep. Adam Schiff



The GOP-controlled House is poised to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and possibly fine him $16 million for his role in advancing the debunked Russian collusion narrative, abusing the trust afforded him as chairman of the Intelligence Committee, and for behaving "dishonestly and dishonorably."

Now, it's just a matter of getting Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's resolution to the floor and seeing it through to a vote.

While House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) indicated he supports Luna's resolution and is "working with her on the best timing to bring it to the House Floor to help it pass," not all Republicans are on board with the current wording of the resolution.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) indicated that if the resolution comes to the floor, he will vote against it, noting, "I'm still litigating a federal lawsuit against Pelosi over a salary reduction she imposed on me for my refusal to wear a mask. ... The Constitution says the House may make its own rules but we can't violate other (later) provisions of the Constitution. A $16 million fine is a violation of the 27th and 8th amendments."

Republicans will need to present a united front to see the resolution through, as Democrats intend to introduce a motion to table or kill the resolution and are sticking together, reported Axios.

Luna, a member of the Freedom Caucus, suggested the vote will likely be held Thursday morning.

\u201cLooks like my vote to censure & condemn @RepAdamSchiff will likely be held Thursday morning.\u201d
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@Rep. Anna Paulina Luna) 1686676571

The resolution, introduced by the Florida congresswoman May 23, accuses Schiff of abusing the trust afforded him while serving as ranking member and then chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. It further condemns him for behaving "dishonestly and dishonorably on many other occasions."

The resolution states Schiff cited evidence of collusion between former President Donald Trump and Russia "that — as is clear from reports by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, and Special Counsel Durham — does not exist. ... By repeatedly telling these falsehoods, Representative Schiff purposely deceived his Committee, Congress, and the American people."

Luna's resolution also drags Schiff for:

  • lending "credibility to the Steele dossier — a collection of debunked collusion accusations funded by President Trump's political rivals — by reading false Steele allegation into the Congressional Record at a HPSCI hearing on March 20, 2017";
  • abusing his privileged access to classified information by composing "a false memo justifying the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant application on trump associate Carter Page, which Inspector General Horowitz later found was riddled with 17 major mistakes and omissions, provoking FISA Court Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer to state unequivocally that the Federal Bureau of Investigation acted to 'mislead the FISC'";
  • grossly violating Carter Page's civil liberties by smearing him "as a Russian collaborator and justifying spurious investigations of him";
  • "falsely denying that his staff coordinated with a whistleblower to launch the first impeachment of President Trump"; and
  • reciting "a false, concocted rendition of a phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky."

Luna claimed Schiff owes the American people a debt, as his "lies, misrepresentations, and abuses of sensitive information" resulted in a Russian-collusion investigation that cost taxpayers $32 million.

This figure appears to reflect the cost of the two-year special counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller as indicated in an expenditures report circulated by the Department of Justice in August 2019.

To recoup this debt, Luna suggested that Schiff be fined $16 million.

Concerning the forthcoming vote on the resolution, Luna tweeted, "Schiff just hit the fan."

Schiff hit Twitter with a response Tuesday, employing a turn of phrase coined by Adolf Hitler: "Today Rep. Anna Paulina Luna introduced a resolution to censure & fine me $16 million. Authors of the big lie are attacking me for telling the truth &holding Trump accountable. This is not just an attack on me—it’s an attack on our democracy & the institution of Congress."

\u201cICYMI\u2014Today Rep. Anna Paulina Luna introduced a resolution to censure & fine me $16 million.\n\nAuthors of the big lie are attacking me for telling the truth &holding Trump accountable.\n\nThis is not just an attack on me\u2014it\u2019s an attack on our democracy & the institution of Congress.\u201d
— Adam Schiff (@Adam Schiff) 1686687384

After first seizing upon the Republican effort to hold him accountable as a fundraising opportunity, Schiff later told CNN that he was "flattered" by the "MAGA resolution," which he suggested was a testament to his effectiveness.

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Law professor asks Adam Schiff to show his phantasmal evidence of Russian collusion after Durham report reveals FBI investigation was baseless



Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff went on repeated media tours and sounded off on the House floor following the 2016 election, claiming there was "plenty of evidence of collusion or conspiracy in plain sight" regarding the Trump campaign and Russia — a false claim originally approved and advanced by failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Schiff's thoroughly discredited claims now appear to be even more damning in light of the release of the final version of special counsel John Durham's report.

Legal scholar and George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley has called on Schiff to account for his apparent lies, suggesting that "this would be a good time for former House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff to reveal that evidence he said showed the Russian collusion ..."

Here are but a few of the televised instances in which Schiff claimed there was evidence of collusion:

\u201cThere is 40+ hours of Adam Schiff blatantly misleading Congress & the American people with his Russian Hoax lies. The Durham report shows Schiff had ZERO evidence. \n\nWhen will Pencil Neck @RepAdamSchiff be prosecuted and stripped of his congressional duties?\u201d
— Grand Old Patriots\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Grand Old Patriots\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1684250482

TheBlaze indicated Monday that Durham's final report paints Schiff, at best, as a maligner.

Durham said the FBI utilized “raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence" to open the investigation into the Trump campaign but did not follow the same standard when approaching alleged election interference in relation to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Durham also found that the FBI “did not and could not corroborate any of the substantive allegations” made in the infamous Steele dossier of lurid accusations against then-candidate Donald Trump, and "neither U.S. nor the Intelligence Community appears to have possessed any actual evidence of collusion in their holdings at the commencement of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation."

“As noted, it was not until mid-September that the Crossfire Hurricane investigators received several of the Steele Reports. Within days of their receipt, the unvetted and unverified Steele Reports were used to support probable cause in the FBI’s FISA applications targeting [Carter] Page, a U.S. citizen who, for a period of time, had been an advisor to Trump,” the report says.

The Durham report further revealed that the FBI investigation into the Trump campaign was virtually baseless and that most of those involved and responsible knew that to be the case, including then-Vice President Joe Biden, then-President Barack Obama, CIA Director John Brennan, FBI Director James Comey, and other partisans briefed on the so-called "Clinton Plan" on Aug. 3, 2016.

These revelations and those accompanying them in the report altogether appear to indicate that the confidence behind Schiff's assertions was either similarly baseless or based on a sense that the actual truth would not ultimately come out.

Turley previously intimated that there might be something to the latter possibility, given Schiff's vigorous and long-standing opposition to Durham's investigation.

For instance, in November 2020, Schiff suggested congressional probes were bad for the country, despite having himself celebrated the initial Trump-Russia collusion investigation, reported Fox News Digital.

Schiff, who led the impeachment efforts against former President Donald Trump, suggested that concerted efforts to ascertain what really happened amounted to an "obstruction of the transition" of then-President-elect Joe Biden into power, then accused Republicans of "tearing down our democracy."

In December 2020, the California Democrat appeared even more uneasy about the prospect that someone might discover it had all been a crock.

Schiff spoke out against then-Attorney General William Barr's selection of John Durham to serve as special counsel and questioned whether Barr even had the authority to do so. He went farther to suggest that Biden's attorney general should shut down the probe, which he claimed was "politically motivated," reported the Daily Caller.

"I would presume the next attorney general will look to see if there is any merit to the work that John Durham is doing and make a rational decision about whether that should continue at any level," said the former House Intelligence Committee chair.

Prior to fighting the Durham investigation, Schiff played defense for the FBI, claiming on Feb. 2, 2018, that "FBI and DOJ officials did not 'abuse' the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process, omit material information, or subvert this vital tool to spy on the Trump campaign," adding that "DOJ met the rigor, transparency, and evidentiary basis needed to meet FISA’s probable cause requirement."

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Twitter excoriates Adam Schiff for posting misleading video of arrest of BLM founder's cousin that led to his death



Critics bashed Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California after he posted what many saw as a misleading video of the arrest of a Black Lives Matter founder's cousin that led to his death.

The LAPD arrested Keenan Anderson on January 3 after a report of a man causing a disturbance. He refused to follow police orders and resisted arrest while acting erratically. He later died of a cardiac arrest at a hospital and tested positive for "Cocaine Metabolite and Cannabinoids."

BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors released a statement accusing the LAPD of killing Anderson, who was her cousin. Police Chief Michel Moore said that Anderson had allegedly committed a felony hit-and-run the day before the fatal altercation.

On Monday, Schiff posted an edited video that made it appear that police assaulted Anderson without provocation and with undeserved aggression.

"We must not look away. And we must not shrink from the need for justice for Keenan Anderson. Police must never respond with such force to a potential mental health crisis," tweeted Schiff.

We must not look away. And we must not shrink from the need for justice for Keenan Anderson.

Police must never respond with such force to a potential mental health crisis. Resources and care are the answer.

Accountability must be transparent and swift.pic.twitter.com/6WQ4ZhkiBK
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) January 16, 2023

"Resources and care are the answer. Accountability must be transparent and swift," he threatened.

Many on social media immediately assailed the Democrat for posting the video.

"This scumbag just wants to inflame tensions and incite violence against cops. If you watch the full video, the cop was incredibly restrained before Anderson ran then resisted arrest. You are a despicable human being @RepAdamSchiff and a disgrace to congress," responded actor Matthew Marsden.

"Choosing to upload a small and emotional portion of a much longer video is extremely dangerous for a representative of @RepAdamSchiff magnitude," read another response.

"You are a narcissist who lies to get headlines. The police responded appropriately with NON-DEADLY force to an individual who was refusing to comply and was resisting arrest!!!" replied another critic.

Others accused Schiff of trying to encourage divisive racial riots over the lethal police arrest.

Here's more about the death of Anderson:

BLM co-founder’s cousin Keenan Anderson dies after being tased by cops | NY Post www.youtube.com

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Elon Musk confronts Rep. Adam Schiff about his efforts to pressure Twitter to silence critics and journalists



The latest installment of Elon Musk's "Twitter Files" revealed some of the lengths Democrats have gone to collude with social media companies, silence critics, and stifle dissent.

The latest batch of revelations contained an email wherein California Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff's office demanded that Twitter suspend journalist Paul Sperry's account, remove "any and all content" unfavorable to Schiff's aide Sean Misko and others, and altogether regulate conversations online about persons involved in both the impeachment inquiry and 2020 presidential election.

Musk tweeted to Schiff Tuesday evening, "Hey @RepAdamSchiff, what's this?"

\u201c@mtaibbi Hey @RepAdamSchiff, what\u2019s this?\u201d
— Matt Taibbi (@Matt Taibbi) 1672782882

Investigative journalist Matt Taibbi suggested Schiff's apparent efforts to suppress free speech were an example of the "astonishing variety of requests from officials asking for individuals they didn’t like to be banned."

Nothing against the state, nothing outside the state

Taibbi has aided Musk in parsing damning internal evidence of apparent statist collusion and censorship to which the previous Twitter regime was party.

Taibbi recently outlined how the FBI had engaged in "constant and pervasive" communications with the social media platform, flagging accounts for suspension and speech for censorship.

In another thread, he detailed how Twitter had let the intelligence community in, caving to moderation pressure amid claims of Russian disinformation circulating on the platform.

The latest thread revealed that by 2020, Twitter was inundated with requests and demands from elements of the government to censor various personalities and narratives.

The company's policy director Carlos Monje acknowledged in May 2020 that "if these folks are like House Homeland Committee and DHS, once we give them a direct contact with Yoel [Roth Twitter's former head of trust and safety], they will want to come back to him again and again."

Taibbi noted that requests did in fact arrive "and were escalated from all over: from Treasury, the NSA, virtually every state, the HHS, from the FBI, and DHS, and more."

Democratic operatives, long keen on pressuring Twitter to silence their critics and foes, were part of this escalation.

In a partially redacted email sent in November 2020, Schiff's office issued the following demands:

  • a) "Remove any and all content about Mr. Misko and other Committee staff from its service—to include quotes, retweets, and reactions to that content";
  • b) "Suspend the many accounts, including @GregRubini and @paulsperry_";
  • c) "Suppress any and all search results about [redacted] and other Committee staff";
  • d) "Stop the spread of future misinformation on Twitter about [redacted] and other Committee staff who are not public figures and who were not central actors in impeachment inquiry or the 2020 presidential election"; and
  • e) "Label and reduce the visibility of any content about [redacted] that Twitter does not remove for the reasons cited above."
The company responded to Schiff's office, indicating that Twitter could not or would not do (a); would look into suspending the accounts per (b); didn't normally suppress search results in manner requested in (c), although QAnon content had been "deamplified"; and would not do (e).
\u201c27.They also received an astonishing variety of requests from officials asking for individuals they didn\u2019t like to be banned. Here, the office for Democrat and House Intel Committee chief Adam Schiff asks Twitter to ban journalist Paul Sperry:\u201d
— Matt Taibbi (@Matt Taibbi) 1672782882

Paul Sperry is a senior staff writer for RealClearInvestigations and has also penned pieces for the New York Post, the Federalist, and other publications.

While Schiff's personal reasons for wanting to silence a well-established conservative writer may be myriad, the Post suggested that Sperry's January 2020 article in RealClearInvestigations concerning the alleged "whistleblower" behind former President Donald Trump's first impeachment may have been the final straw.

In the article, Sperry discusses how Eric Ciaramella, "the CIA analyst whose name was recently linked in a tweet by the president and mentioned by lawmakers as the anonymous 'whistleblower' who touched off Trump's impeachment," had allegedly been overheard discussing "how to remove the newly elected president from office" with Sean Misko, a holdover staffer from the Obama administration.

According to Sperry, someone in the White House who had reportedly overheard the conversation said, "Just days after he was sworn in [Misko and Ciaramella] were already talking about trying to get rid of him."

Sperry noted how Misko ultimately left the White House and joined the House Intelligence Committee, chaired by Schiff.

For having connected Misko — who allegedly discussed removing the democratically elected president — to Schiff's team, Sperry evidently angered someone in the House Democrat's office.

"Schiff was just angry I outed his impeachment whistleblower and tried to get me banned," Sperry told the New York Post on Tuesday. "I challenge Schiff to produce evidence to back up his defamatory remarks to Twitter."

"This is a scurrilous smear, but par for the course for the unscrupulous Chairman Schiff," he added.

Censors posing as defenders

Democrats' apparent willingness to silence journalists who are critical of them is inconsistent with their past rhetoric about defending the freedom of the press and transparency.

While pushing the "Journalist Protection Act" in 2019, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.), said, "Accountability through transparency, access to public information, and freedom of the press ... are under attack like never before."

Rep. Rob Menendez (D-N.J.) said, "Over 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers had the foresight to recognize the importance of a free press to a fledgling democracy. ... Now, more than ever, their importance can’t be overstated."

Schiff, whose office sought to have Sperry silenced, tweeted in June 2020, "A free press is essential to any democracy, and reporters need to do their jobs safely. The press are not the enemy – unless you fear the truth."

In October, the California Democrat wrote, "Standing up for democracy means standing up for a free press."

Schiff has also criticized foreign regimes for doing what his office appeared keen to do. He wrote in March 2020, "This brazen assault on the free press by the Chinese Communist Party is appalling. ... China's attempts to silence the truth must not stand."

Schiff also pledged to defend the rights of journalists this year:

\u201cA free press is the bedrock of democracy, and we are indebted to the journalists who risk it all to speak truth and hold power to account.\n\nToday and every day, we stand with the free press.\n\nWe honor their contributions and sacrifices.\n\nAnd we pledge to defend their rights.\u201d
— Adam Schiff (@Adam Schiff) 1651588410

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon indicted by federal grand jury over Jan. 6 subpoena



Former Trump campaign adviser Steve Bannon was indicted by a federal grand jury over his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 congressional committee.

The committee investigating the Jan. 6 rioting at the U.S. Capitol subpoenaed Bannon to appear on Oct. 14 before the panel. It was one of almost 3 dozen subpoenas the committee has issued to former Trump officials and aides.

Bannon was charged with two counts of contempt of Congress, one related to his failure to appear and another for failure to produce documents requested. His lawyer had sent a statement to Congress saying that he would not respond until the claims of executive privilege by former President Donald Trump were settled.

Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Bannon, who is expected to surrender himself to custody on Monday.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland released a statement announcing the indictment on Friday.

"Since my first day in office, I have promised Justice Department employees that together we would show the American people by word and deed that the department adheres to the rule of law, follows the facts and the law and pursues equal justice under the law," he claimed.

If convicted of the crime, Bannon could face up to a year in prison and a fine between $100 and $1,000 for each of the two counts.

The House of Representatives voted in favor of a criminal contempt referral for Bannon in late October.

The indictment could serve as a warning to others who have been subpoenaed but have yet to comply with the demands of the Jan. 6 committee.

Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff of California specifically cited it as a warning in a tweet he posted after the indictment was reported.

"A grand jury just indicted Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress. Let this send a message to all those with knowledge of the attack on our democracy: The days of defying subpoenas with impunity are over," tweeted Schiff.

A grand jury just indicted Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress.\n\nLet this send a message to all those with knowledge of the attack on our democracy:\n\nThe days of defying subpoenas with impunity are over.\n\nWe will expose those responsible for Jan 6.\n\nNo one is above the law.

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) 1636754063

"We will expose those responsible for Jan 6," he added. "No one is above the law."

Here's more about the indictment against Bannon:

Steve Bannon indicted for contempt of Congresswww.youtube.com

FACT CHECK: Was Adam Schiff Arrested At Los Angeles International Airport?

'No record of @RepAdamSchiff being arrested at @flyLAXairport by @LAAirportPD or @LAPDHQ'