Rep. Adam Schiff faces censure vote for role in Trump, Russia probe

Rep. Adam Schiff’s congressional colleagues are expected to decide this week whether to censure him and levy a $16 million fine for his role in investigations into alleged ties between former President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia.

Introduced on Tuesday, June 13 — the same day Trump was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to criminal charges related to alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left the White House — the four-page resolution accuses Schiff of “citing evidence of collusion that … does not exist.”

Related: Lawmaker with Southern California roots moves to expel Rep. Adam Schiff from Congress

Schiff, the previous chair of the House Intelligence Committee and who is running for the U.S. Senate, has accused Trump’s first presidential campaign of colluding with Russia.

Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who has Southern California ties, is behind the measure. The $16 million fine, according to her office, amounts to half the cost of the Russia investigation.

In a letter to his colleagues Tuesday, Schiff called the effort a “terrible misuse of House precedent and resources” as well as “a clear attack on our constitutional system of checks and balances.”

“As honored as I am to have earned their enmity, attempting to censure those who defend the Constitution against a corrupt president sets a dangerous precedent,” Schiff said in the letter obtained by the Southern California News Group.

On social media, Schiff  — a Democrat whose district includes Burbank, parts of the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Hollywood and West Hollywood– suggested the resolution was filed to distract from Trump’s indictment and to “retaliate against me for impeaching him.”

A censure vote signals the House’s “deep disapproval” of a member’s conduct and is considered a step below expulsion.

Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar was the last representative to be censured, in 2021, after he posted a fake video that depicted himself killing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The vote was mostly along party lines, with only two Republicans voting in favor of it.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy removed Schiff and fellow California Democrat, Rep. Eric Swalwell, from the committee earlier this year, citing national security concerns.

This isn’t the first time Republicans have tried to formally condemn Schiff; an effort in 2019 to censure him for his handling of a Trump impeachment inquiry failed. Trump, who was still active on Twitter at the time, signaled his support of the effort on social media then.

A vote on Luna’s censure resolution is expected as soon as Wednesday or Thursday, according to House sources.

Staff writer Hanna Kang contributed to this report.