CNN
—
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to impeach Rep. Adam Schiff, a key lawmaker in the Democratic congressional investigations into former President Donald Trump during his presidency.
The resolution accuses Schiff of misleading the American people while continuing the congressional investigation into Russia and the Trump campaign as then chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and for the actions Schiff took leading up to the former president’s first impeachment. Schiff dismissed the allegations as “false and defamatory.”
The vote was 213-209 along party lines. The Republican members of the House Ethics Committee – Michael Guest of Mississippi, Dave Joyce of Ohio, Andrew Garbarino of New York, John Rutherford of Florida and Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota – voted today. GOP Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado also voted to be present but he was not on the Ethics Committee.
As part of the impeachment procedure, Schiff stood at the well on the floor of the House, while House Speaker Kevin McCarthy repeatedly tried to read a brief rule about impeachment. Schiff was joined by his fellow Democrats on the House floor who cheered him loudly and repeatedly interrupted McCarthy.
The effort to impeach Schiff, who is running for a US Senate seat in California, cleared a key roadblock early Wednesday afternoon after a vote to kill the legislation failed.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, led the effort for a revised measure on the House floor for her role in the Russia probe and investigating Trump after a similar measure she sponsored failed last week.
Luna announced on Tuesday that he had obtained the number of votes necessary to censure and refer him to the House Ethics Committee.
“I am calling my motion censure and will be taking the vote to impeach Adam Schiff to the floor tomorrow,” Luna tweeted Tuesday night.
The original resolution passed by Luna failed last week after 20 Republicans voted to invent the measure and two voted to “present,” but after some tweaks Luna made in consultation of GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, including the removal of the $16 million fine attached. in the legislation, the measure gained more support. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who opposed the motion last week, told CNN on Tuesday that he was in favor of the new version and that he was helping Luna in her whipping effort.
Some House Republicans voted against it last week over constitutionality concerns and fear it could spark a tit-for-tat. Several House Republicans who voted to kill the resolution last week have signaled they will support the new resolution, although several GOP lawmakers admitted to CNN they are concerned that the repeated attempts have boosted his fundraising efforts. Senate candidacy.
On Tuesday before the vote, Schiff called the move “a badge of honor” and said, “They wouldn’t be prosecuting me if they didn’t think I was going to be effective.”
“Now Trump is threatening to preempt any Republican who doesn’t vote for it. It shows who’s behind the whole effort to get in the way of Trump’s legal problems is Trump,” Schiff told CNN. “But the -wasting floor time on this flawed and blasphemous resolution would be a disservice to the country.”
While serving as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff announced a sweeping investigation in February 2019 into President Trump’s finances and Russia.
Schiff also served as the lead House impeachment manager in Trump’s first impeachment. In that role, Schiff and other impeachment managers detailed the House case for removing Trump from the Senate trial. The Senate ultimately voted to acquit.
This story and headline has been updated with additional developments.
