[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 21, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3013-H3022]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I call up the privileged resolution noticed
earlier today.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 521
Whereas the allegation that President Donald Trump colluded
with Russia to interfere in the 2016 Presidential election
has been revealed as false by numerous in-depth
investigations, including the recent report by Special
Counsel John Durham, which documents how the conspiracy
theory was invented, funded, and spread by President's
Trump's political rivals;
Whereas Representative Adam Schiff, who served as ranking
minority member and then Chairman of the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives
(the ``Intelligence Committee''), occupied positions of
extreme trust, affording him access to sensitive intelligence
unavailable to most Members of Congress;
Whereas, for years, Representative Schiff abused this trust
by alleging he had evidence of collusion that, as is clear
from reports by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Department of
Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, and Special
Counsel Durham, never existed;
Whereas, for years, Representative Schiff has spread false
accusations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia;
Whereas, on March 20, 2017, Representative Schiff
perpetuated false allegations from the Steele Dossier
accusing numerous Trump associates of colluding with Russia
into the Congressional Record;
Whereas, once again abusing his privileged access to
classified information, Representative Schiff released a memo
justifying the accuracy of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant application on Trump
associate Carter Page, of which was later found by Inspector
General Horowitz to have 17 major mistakes and omissions,
provoking FISA Court Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer to
state unequivocally that the Federal Bureau of Investigation
``misled the FISC'';
Whereas, as ranking minority member and Chairman of the
Intelligence Committee, Representative Schiff behaved
dishonestly and dishonorably on many other occasions,
including by publicly, falsely denying that his staff
communicated with a whistleblower to launch the first
impeachment of President Trump;
Whereas, as part of his impeachment efforts, during a
hearing on September 26, 2019, Representative Schiff misled
the public by reading a false retelling of a phone call
between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky;
Whereas, on March 28, 2019, every Republican member of the
Intelligence Committee signed a letter calling for
Representative Schiff's immediate resignation as Chairman;
Whereas Representative Schiff hindered the ability of the
Intelligence Committee to fulfill its oversight
responsibilities over the Intelligence Community, an
indispensable pillar of our national security; and
Whereas these actions of Representative Schiff misled the
American people and brought disrepute upon the House of
Representatives: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) the House of Representatives censures Adam Schiff,
Representative of the 30th Congressional District of
California, for misleading the American public and for
conduct unbecoming of an elected Member of the House of
Representatives;
(2) Representative Adam Schiff will forthwith present
himself in the well of the House of Representatives for the
pronouncement of censure;
(3) Representative Adam Schiff will be censured with the
public reading of this resolution by the Speaker; and
(4) the Committee on Ethics shall conduct an investigation
into Representative Adam Schiff's falsehoods,
misrepresentations, and abuses of sensitive information.
{time} 1400
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution qualifies.
Motion to Table
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The clerk will report the motion.
The Clerk read as follows:
Ms. Clark of Massachusetts moves to lay the resolution on
the table.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This will be a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 208,
noes 218, not voting 8, as follows:
[Roll No. 276]
AYES--208
Adams
Aguilar
Allred
Auchincloss
Balint
Barragan
Beatty
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Bowman
Boyle (PA)
Brown
Brownley
Budzinski
Bush
Caraveo
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carson
Carter (LA)
Cartwright
Casar
Case
Casten
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Cherfilus-McCormick
Chu
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Craig
Crockett
Crow
Cuellar
Davids (KS)
Davis (IL)
Davis (NC)
Dean (PA)
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Deluzio
DeSaulnier
Dingell
Doggett
Escobar
Eshoo
Espaillat
Evans
Fletcher
Foster
Foushee
Frankel, Lois
Frost
Gallego
Garamendi
Garcia (IL)
Garcia (TX)
Garcia, Robert
Golden (ME)
Goldman (NY)
Gomez
Gonzalez, Vicente
Gottheimer
Green, Al (TX)
Grijalva
Harder (CA)
Hayes
Higgins (NY)
Himes
Horsford
Houlahan
Hoyer
Hoyle (OR)
Huffman
Ivey
Jackson (IL)
Jackson (NC)
Jackson Lee
Jacobs
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Kamlager-Dove
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Khanna
Kim (NJ)
Krishnamoorthi
Kuster
Landsman
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Lee (NV)
Lee (PA)
Leger Fernandez
Levin
Lieu
Lofgren
Lynch
Magaziner
Manning
Matsui
McBath
McClellan
McCollum
McGarvey
McGovern
Meeks
Menendez
Mfume
Moore (WI)
Morelle
Moskowitz
Moulton
Mrvan
Mullin
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Neguse
Nickel
Norcross
Ocasio-Cortez
Omar
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pascrell
Payne
Pelosi
Peltola
Perez
Peters
Pettersen
Phillips
Pingree
Pocan
Porter
Quigley
Ramirez
Raskin
Ross
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Ryan
Salinas
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Scholten
Schrier
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Sewell
Sherman
Sherrill
Slotkin
Smith (WA)
Sorensen
Soto
Spanberger
Stansbury
Stanton
Stevens
Strickland
Swalwell
Sykes
Takano
Thanedar
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tokuda
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Torres (NY)
Trahan
Trone
Underwood
Vargas
Vasquez
Veasey
Velazquez
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson Coleman
Wexton
Wild
Williams (GA)
Wilson (FL)
NOES--218
Aderholt
Alford
Allen
Amodei
Armstrong
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Baird
Balderson
Banks
Barr
Bean (FL)
Bentz
Bergman
Bice
Biggs
Bilirakis
Bishop (NC)
Boebert
Bost
Brecheen
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Burchett
Burgess
Burlison
Calvert
Cammack
Carey
Carl
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chavez-DeRemer
Ciscomani
Cline
Cloud
Clyde
Cole
Collins
Comer
Crane
Crawford
Crenshaw
Curtis
D'Esposito
Davidson
De La Cruz
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Donalds
Duarte
Duncan
Dunn (FL)
Edwards
Ellzey
Emmer
Estes
Ezell
Fallon
Feenstra
Ferguson
Finstad
Fischbach
Fitzgerald
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flood
Foxx
Franklin, C. Scott
Fry
Fulcher
Gaetz
Gallagher
Garbarino
Garcia, Mike
Gimenez
Gonzales, Tony
Good (VA)
Gooden (TX)
Gosar
Granger
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Green (TN)
Greene (GA)
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hageman
Harris
Harshbarger
Hern
Higgins (LA)
Hill
Houchin
Hudson
Huizenga
Hunt
Jackson (TX)
James
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (OH)
Johnson (SD)
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Joyce (PA)
Kean (NJ)
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
Kiggans (VA)
Kiley
Kim (CA)
Kustoff
LaHood
LaLota
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Langworthy
Latta
LaTurner
Lawler
Lee (FL)
Lesko
Letlow
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Luna
Luttrell
Mace
Malliotakis
Mann
Massie
Mast
McCarthy
McCaul
McClain
McClintock
McCormick
McHenry
Meuser
Miller (IL)
Miller (OH)
Miller (WV)
Miller-Meeks
Mills
Molinaro
Moolenaar
Mooney
Moore (AL)
Moore (UT)
Moran
Murphy
Nehls
Newhouse
Norman
Nunn (IA)
Obernolte
Ogles
Owens
Palmer
Pence
Perry
Pfluger
Reschenthaler
Rodgers (WA)
Rogers (AL)
[[Page H3014]]
Rogers (KY)
Rose
Rosendale
Rouzer
Roy
Rutherford
Salazar
Santos
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Self
Sessions
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smucker
Spartz
Stauber
Steel
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Stewart
Strong
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Tiffany
Timmons
Turner
Valadao
Van Drew
Van Duyne
Van Orden
Wagner
Walberg
Waltz
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams (NY)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Yakym
Zinke
NOT VOTING--8
Hinson
Issa
Kildee
Kilmer
Meng
Posey
Pressley
Williams (TX)
{time} 1407
So the motion to table was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Stated for:
Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to physically record my vote
on the motion to table H. Res. 521. Had I been present, I would have
voted ``aye'' on rollcall No. 276.
Stated against:
Mrs. HINSON. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been
present, I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall No. 276.
PERSONAL EXPLANATION
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to attend votes due to ongoing
treatment from my recent cancer diagnosis. Had I been present, I would
have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 274, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 275,
and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 276.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Crawford). Pursuant to clause 2 of rule
IX, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Luna) and the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, Americans do not trust Congress. From the highest levels
of office, an elected Member of this body enabled the fraudulent
spending of $32 million out of the pockets of our American people and
threw it down the drain to knowingly chase ghosts, all for political
gain.
This man occupied a position of the highest trust and authority.
As Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Schiff
launched an all-out political campaign built on baseless distortions
against a sitting U.S. President at the expense of every single citizen
in this country and the honor of the House of Representatives.
With access to sensitive information unavailable to most Members of
Congress, and certainly not accessible to the American people,
Representative Schiff abused his privileges, claiming to know the
truth, while leaving Americans in the dark about this web of lies.
These were lies so severe that they altered the course of the country
forever: the lie that President Donald Trump colluded with Russia to
steal the 2016 Presidential election revealed to be completely false by
numerous investigations, including the Durham report; the lie that the
Steele dossier--a folder of falsified and since completely debunked
collusion accusations funded by the Democratic Party--had any shred of
credibility, yet Representative Schiff read it into the Congressional
Record as fact; the lies concocted and compiled in a false memo that
was used to lie to the FISA court, to precipitate domestic spying on
U.S. citizen, Carter Page, violating American civil liberties.
Not only was this an egregious abuse of Representative Schiff's
privileged access to classified information, but this memo was littered
with 17 major mistakes and omissions. The groundless memo violated
Carter Page's civil liberties, publicly assassinated his character, and
subjected him to multiple, abusive, unlawful investigations.
Representative Schiff exploited his position as Chair of the Intel
Committee at every opportunity possible, threatening national security,
undermining our duly-elected President, and bringing dishonor upon the
institution. Perhaps most unforgivable, Representative Schiff ripped
apart American families across the country with repeated false
narratives.
His own political good was served by permanently destroying family
relationships and sowing lasting division across our land, which we
live with every single day.
The perpetrators of this web of deceit became mainstays on cable
news, waking up every morning with one goal: to lie, lie, lie to the
American people that there was direct evidence of a Russia collusion.
Despite transcripts from Representative Schiff's investigation
showing that the Director of National Intelligence, former Obama
Attorney General, former Deputy Attorney General, and FBI Director, to
name a few, went on record telling Representative Schiff's committee
that there was no direct evidence for his criminal conspiracy, yet to
this day, Representative Schiff actively fundraises off of his
exploitation of Americans, as if robbing them from the truth and $32
million in taxpayer dollars is not enough.
{time} 1415
Can anyone in this Chamber comprehend this list of crimes and yet
somehow believe there should not be an answer for it?
This is not a partisan act. This is not a conservative versus liberal
vote. This is a clear vote between right and wrong, and I urge my
colleagues to do the right thing.
I will end with repeating what I started with. The American people do
not trust Congress. The cyclical pattern of lies has worn down the
credibility of every institution and every official in the United
States Government. You see it. I see it.
If we run away from this opportunity to hold this man accountable,
there is only one fault and that is of ourselves. We will betray the
people who trusted us and sent us here to do the right thing. We will
be responsible for the end of any shred of justice in this body. We
will reject the duty that we swore an oath to protect upon taking
office.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Today, we meet not to lower the costs of prescription drugs, nor to
expand President Biden's infrastructure plan, nor to protect the voting
rights of the people, nor to protect the healthcare choices of women
across America because we know they are definitely not interested in
that. No, we meet, rather, for another stop on the GOP's endless
revenge tour against Democrats who dared to tell the truth about Donald
Trump and his repeated sellouts and betrayals of the American people
over the last 6 years.
It is all about Donald Trump tightening his stranglehold over
Republicans for the 2024 campaign and driving out anyone who dares to
think for himself or herself.
Don't take my word for it. Just read Friday's statement by the twice-
impeached inciter of insurrection, sexual abuser, defamer of women, and
indicted pilferer of national security secrets, war plans, and top-
secret classified documents himself. On Friday, Trump posted this order
to his followers in this unveiled threat to anyone who would dare to
defy his control over the GOP: ``Any Republican voting against [Adam
Schiff's] censure, or worse, should immediately be primaried.''
The Luna resolution is a weapon of mass distraction from Trump's
indictment by a Florida grand jury on 37 Federal charges relating to
obstruction and unlawful retention of defense information for storing
dozens of classified, secret, and top-secret documents at his Florida
resort in his bathroom, his bedroom, and beyond, and then refusing
repeatedly for more than a year to return any of these official
documents to the National Archives and the FBI.
It is amazing to me that they have to change the subject from one of
Donald Trump's current offenses against America to one of his older
offenses, welcoming Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential
campaign.
Russia repeatedly intervened in the 2016 campaign to help Donald
Trump, and that is not a matter of opinion. That is a question of
direct, positive fact.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI Director whose report
is cited authoritatively by Mrs. Luna, found right at the beginning of
his report that ``the Russian Government interfered in the 2016
Presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion.''
Here is what the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, and the Office of the
Director of
[[Page H3015]]
the National Intelligence found in 2017: ``Russian President Vladimir
Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S.
Presidential election.''
The Mueller investigation and the Moscow Project documented more than
250 episodes of collaboration and meetings between Russia and the Trump
campaign, including Paul Manafort's repeated passing of campaign
secrets, such as polling data, to Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian agent,
and the infamous meeting on June 9, 2016, at Trump Tower led by Donald
Trump, Jr., Jared Kushner, and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.
Senator Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican, stated that the U.S.
Senate bipartisan Select Committee on Intelligence ``found irrefutable
evidence of Russian meddling'' in the American campaign.
The Mueller report, if you read it, makes no pronouncement on
collusion, the punitive crux of the distinguished gentlewoman's
complaint, because, as Mueller writes, ``collusion'' is not a legal
offense or a legal concept.
The whole question of Trump's collusion with Russia is in the realm
of opinion, and most Americans would see a lot of collusive activity,
all the way up to the present day when Donald Trump refuses even to
take the side of the Ukrainian people against Vladimir Putin's filthy,
bloody, imperialist invasion of their country, which has been filled
with lies, atrocities, and war crimes.
In any event, we don't censure Members over a difference of opinion.
Mr. Speaker, we are seeing the complete ethical collapse of a once-
great political party. The Republican Party began as a pro-freedom,
antiracist, pro-immigrant, anti-Know-Nothing party. It has become an
authoritarian cult of personality taking orders from an inciter of
insurrection, bully, and braggart whose rage toward Mike Pence and
whose spectacular disrespect for the rule of law endangered not only
our entire constitutional order but everyone in this room. The party of
Lincoln and his Lincolnites has become the party of Luna and her Luna
followers.
Today's madcap antics are an obvious deflection from Trump's
deepening legal troubles. His allegedly criminal conduct in pilfering,
hoarding, and refusing to return national security documents has caused
his own Attorney General, William Barr, to say that: ``Trump's conduct
is indefensible. . . . He is not a victim here. He was totally wrong.''
And, ``There is no excuse for what he did here.''
Yesterday, Representative Boebert offered a resolution of impeachment
against President Biden. The GOP simply has no ideas for our economy,
no ideas for our country, and no ideas for our people but is on an
embarrassing revenge tour on behalf of Donald Trump, who treats them
like a ventriloquist dummy.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Ogles).
Mr. OGLES. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and dear friend,
Congresswoman Luna, for leading the charge to hold our Democrat
counterparts responsible for their gross misuse of power.
Adam Schiff abused his power as chairman of the House Intelligence
Committee to create false narratives that were sold to the American
people about President Trump. The Mueller report and Durham report both
proved that the basis for the so-called Russian collusion investigation
was nonexistent.
The Representative from California misled the American people and
compromised the interests of the United States of America in service of
defeating, persecuting, attacking, and defaming President Donald Trump.
Mr. Speaker, he was hasty, prejudiced, and wrong. It is clear he was
concerned for no one but himself and the advancement of the Democratic
Party's political agenda. Now, $32 million later, the American people
are left with lies and the obligation to pick up the tab for this
boondoggle of a political witch hunt.
The Representative from California prioritized personal political
gain over the interests of our Nation, and he more than deserves to be
censured by the people's House.
The Democratic Party has allowed an invasion on our southern border
where every small town in America is now a border town. Every one of us
knows someone who has been poisoned or overdosed because of fentanyl.
Illegals are raping and killing people across our country. What do they
do? They claim to have a solution, and they have none.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff).
Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, to my Republican colleagues who introduced
this resolution, I thank you. You honor me with your enmity. You
flatter me with this falsehood.
You, who are the authors of a big lie about the last election, must
condemn the truthtellers, and I stand proudly before you. Your words
tell me that I have been effective in the defense of our democracy, and
I am grateful.
Yet, this false and defamatory resolution comes at a considerable
cost to the country and to the Congress. At a moment when many millions
of people in our home State of California are unable to find a place to
live or afford a place to live, Speaker McCarthy chooses to occupy the
resources of Congress for 2 straight weeks on this hollow sop to the
MAGA crowd. He offers nothing to those who are homeless or addicted to
opioids, or to millions of college students mired in debt, but this
paltry distraction.
Donald Trump is under indictment for actions that jeopardize our
national security, and McCarthy would spend the Nation's time on petty
political payback, thinking he can censure or fine Trump's opposition
into submission.
But I will not yield, not one inch.
The cost of the Speaker's delinquency is high, but the cost to
Congress of this frivolous and yet dangerous resolution may be even
higher, as it represents another serious abuse of power.
Donald Trump has threatened that any of you who defy him and vote
against this partisan resolution will be met by a primary challenge.
He calls for my imprisonment. If a transient majority can punish and
attempt to silence Members who hold a corrupt President to account,
there is no telling what further corruption of office will follow.
I say this to Speaker McCarthy and others who wish to gratify Donald
Trump with this act of subservience or bend to his demands: Try as you
might to expel me from Congress or silence me with a $16 million fine,
you will not succeed. You might as well make it $160 million. You will
never deter me from doing my duty.
No matter how many false justifications or slanders you level against
me, you but indict yourselves. As Liz Cheney said: ``There will come a
day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.''
This resolution attacks me for initiating an investigation into the
Trump campaign's solicitation and acceptance of Russian help in the
2016 election, even though the investigation was first led not by me
but by a Republican chairman.
It would hold that when you give internal campaign polling data to a
Russian intelligence operative while Russian intelligence is helping
your campaign, as Trump's campaign chairman did, that you must not call
that collusion, though that is its proper name, as the country well
knows.
It would fine me for the costs of the critically important Mueller
investigation into Trump's misconduct, even though the special counsel
was appointed by Trump's own Attorney General.
It would reprimand me over a flawed FISA application, as if I were
its author or I were the Director of the FBI, and over flaws only
discovered years later and by the inspector general, not Mr. Durham.
In short, it would accuse me of omnipotence, the leader of some vast
deep state conspiracy. Of course, it is nonsense.
Here is the real gravamen of my offense: I led the first impeachment
of Donald Trump for one of the most egregious Presidential abuses of
power in our history, and I led a trial which resulted in the first
bipartisan vote to remove a President in history. I would do so again.
I warned that if Trump was not held accountable, he would go on to
try to
[[Page H3016]]
cheat in even worse ways in the next election, and he did, inciting a
violent attack on this very Capitol.
After that, I participated in some of the most important hearings in
congressional history, hearings that exposed Donald Trump's incitement
of a dangerous insurrection to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.
My colleagues, if there is cause for censure in this House, and there
is, it should be directed at those in this body who sought to overturn
a free and fair election.
The question, my Republican colleagues, is not why I am the subject
of this false resolution for doing my constitutional duty, but why are
you not? Why are you not standing beside me, the subject of a similar
rebuke for speaking the truth?
Why did you not stand up to Donald Trump? Why did you not reject his
immortality? Why did you not condemn his dishonesty?
Why did you not speak out when his horde attacked this Capitol or now
when he treats the Nation's secrets with such carelessness,
lawlessness, and disdain? Why did you hide from efforts to hold him
accountable?
Why were you silent, afraid, unwilling to do your ethical,
constitutional duty? Why did you cower? Why did you cower, and why do
you still?
Will it be said of you that you lacked the courage to stand up to the
most immoral, unlawful, and unethical President in history but consoled
yourselves by attacking those who did?
Today, I wear this partisan vote as a badge of honor, knowing that I
have lived my oath, knowing that I have done my duty to hold a
dangerous and out-of-control President accountable, and knowing that I
would do so again in a heartbeat if the circumstances should ever
require it.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks
to the Chair and not each other in the second person.
{time} 1430
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Illinois (Mrs. Miller).
Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Luna for leading
on this resolution.
Representative Schiff used his position as the chairman of the House
Intelligence Committee to mislead the American people by falsely
claiming that there was classified evidence of Russia colluding with
President Trump, which was not true.
The Mueller report and the Durham report make clear that the Russia
collusion hoax was a political lie designed to hurt President Trump and
mislead the American people.
Representative Schiff used the Intelligence Committee to advance a
political narrative against his political opponents, which violated the
important nonpartisan tradition of the committee.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join my colleagues today in holding
Representative Schiff accountable for his actions because the American
people deserve justice.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Aguilar), the chairman of the Democratic Caucus and a
former member of the January 6th Select Committee.
Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the
resolution.
It is shameful that the temporary Republican majority continue to
waste the American people's time with baseless accusations and
rightwing conspiracy theories.
Instead of joining House Democrats to address the gun violence
epidemic, we are forced to debate on gas stoves and partisan grudges.
This resolution today is motivated by the same groups and individuals
who to this day promote the lie that the 2020 election was stolen--a
lie that Adam Schiff stood up to time and time again.
I have had the privilege of serving alongside Adam in the California
delegation and the January 6th Committee. He has never shied away from
taking on the toughest fights, and he is not going to be intimidated by
anyone, including the former President or his allies.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand with the gentleman from California
today, and I urge my colleagues to join me in opposition to this
resolution.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Langworthy).
Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, in this body we are privileged to serve
our districts and do right by the American people. We have been
entrusted with a tremendous responsibility that shapes the future of
our Nation.
First and foremost, we must remember that we are not here to serve
our own interests or pursue personal agendas.
Unfortunately, one of the most powerful members of the Democratic
Caucus, Adam Schiff, abused his role and violated the trust of the
American people. As chairman of the House Intelligence Committee,
Schiff initiated an unfounded investigation into the leftist lies
around Russian collusion.
This investigation was predicated on nothing more than political
propaganda. The Durham report clearly shows that the Russia hoax was
manufactured by the left to divide our Nation and discredit and derail
President Trump's agenda.
He not only wasted countless hours of committee work, but he also
wasted nearly $32 million in taxpayer dollars.
Schiff repeatedly used the authority he was afforded in his position
as chairman to lie to the American people to support his political
agenda. Even after the Durham report discredited the Russia hoax, he
continued to knowingly lie and peddle this false narrative.
These actions leave a real and lasting stain on this institution. We
cannot allow Representative Schiff to continue to serve in this body
with no consequences for the abuse of his power.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and to
send a clear message to the American people that we will hold Members
of Congress accountable.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Jeffries), the minority leader and a member of the first
House impeachment team.
Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman for
yielding and for his leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this fake, phony,
and fraudulent censure resolution brought against Adam Schiff, the
distinguished gentleman from the great State of California.
House Democrats will continue to put people over politics, to fight
for lower costs, better-paying jobs, safer communities, defend
democracy, fight for freedom, and build an economy that invests and
grows the middle class.
This is a do-nothing Republican-controlled Congress, that is why this
censure resolution is on the floor today. Extreme MAGA Republicans have
no vision, have no plan, and have no agenda to make life better for
everyday Americans.
House Democrats will continue to work for the people. Clearly, as
this resolution demonstrates, extreme MAGA Republicans work for the
twice-impeached, disgraced former President of the United States of
America, the insurrectionist in chief, the extreme puppet master, who
clearly ordered that this fake, phony, and fraudulent resolution be
brought to the floor today after it failed last week.
In fact, the supreme puppet master even threatened the other side of
the aisle with primaries if they didn't bend the knee. When he says,
``bend the knee,'' extreme MAGA Republicans say, ``how high.''
Adam Schiff has done nothing wrong. Adam Schiff is a good man. Adam
Schiff has served this country with distinction. Adam Schiff served
this country well as a Federal prosecutor, fighting to keep communities
safe. Adam Schiff served this country well as the chair of the House
Intelligence Committee, investigating people without fear or favor,
including those at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue because he believes in the
Constitution and his oath of office.
Adam Schiff served his country well as the lead impeachment manager
during the first impeachment trial of the former President of the
United States, prosecuting his corrupt abuse of power. Yes, Adam Schiff
served this country well in the aftermath of the violent insurrection.
He pushed back against the big lie told by the puppet master in chief
and participated as a prominent member of the January 6th Committee to
defend our democracy.
[[Page H3017]]
Adam Schiff has done nothing wrong. He has worked hard to do right by
the American people. The extreme MAGA Republicans have no vision, no
agenda, and no plan to make life better for the American people, so we
have this phony, fake, and fraudulent censure resolution.
Adam Schiff will not be silenced. We will not be silenced. House
Democrats will not be silenced today. We will not be silenced tomorrow.
We will not be silenced next week. We will not be silenced next month.
We will not be silenced next year. We will not be silenced this decade.
We will not be silenced this century. You will never ever silence us.
We will always do what is right. We will always fight for the
Constitution, fight to defend democracy, fight for freedom, expose
extremism, and continue America's long, necessary, and majestic march
toward a more perfect Union.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' against this phony,
fake, and fraudulent censure resolution.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South
Carolina (Mr. Norman).
Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, I proudly stand with Congresswoman Luna to
back this censure of a man that has been long overdue. I am glad the
galleries are now open where people can see firsthand that you cannot
get up in front of Congress or the American people and completely deny
the truth and continue to spread falsehoods.
There is no TV that could have been turned on over the last couple of
years when you didn't see Adam Schiff being questioned: Where is your
evidence on the Russia collusion? Where is it?
He couldn't answer it. It was always coming.
He used his position on the Intel Committee--and for those of you who
are listening, it is information we don't get as regular
Congresspeople. He used his position on the Intel Committee to spread
continuous lies with no facts. How did he do that?
He had access not only to the most sensitive information, he also did
not share the access or facts that backed what he was saying. The
trusted and sensitive position was abused by Congressman Schiff to
weave purposeful falsehoods around the Russia collusion.
The Mueller report and the Durham report make clear that the
foundations of his investigations were bogus. It showed that the
Director of National Intelligence, a former Obama Attorney General,
former Deputy Attorney General, and the FBI Director, among others, all
told his committee there was no direct evidence of criminal conspiracy.
Yet, he kept making the statements that his evidence was coming, and it
just never did.
Not only did he spread falsehoods that abused his power, he went
after a man, Carter Page, who was completely innocent. Inspector
General Horowitz found 17 major mistakes.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 2 minutes to the
gentleman from South Carolina.
Mr. NORMAN. Inspector General Horowitz later found 17 major mistakes
and omissions, which provoked the FISA court presiding judge, Rosemary
Collyer, to state unequivocally that the FBI misled FISA.
The public smearing of Carter Page as a Russian collaborator, and
justification of spurious investigations of him were carried out with
Representative Schiff's contribution. This is a violation of American
civil liberties, and it is the very abuse that should not be warranted
in Congress.
All this to spend $32 million on an investigation that went nowhere.
It is an insult to the American people. The American people deserve
better.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate Congresswoman Luna bringing this up. Words
have actions. Just because they continue to say it, does not make it
true. That is the case of what Adam Schiff has done.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Quigley).
Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I had the honor of serving with the
gentleman from California on the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence for 8 years. I had an in-the-ring view of his work.
Obviously, it is not what Mr. Schiff did that was wrong, it is what
he did so well. That is what bothers the majority. He defended our
country from threats, foreign and domestic. He defended the rule of
law. He defended our democracy at one of its most critical and pivotal
points. He held the ethically and legally challenged former President
accountable.
What really gnaws on the majority and what really bothers them is
that Mr. Schiff was way better than anybody on their team at debate, at
leadership, at messaging, and at legal knowledge. He kicked their ass.
He was better, he was more effective, and that still bothers them.
They couldn't beat him on the field, so they voted him off. We voted
people off committees because they posted threats, not because they
can't compete.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from
profanity in their remarks.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Good).
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from
Florida for her leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry to report to my friends on the other side
that we are not voting today on whether or not to censure President
Trump, but one Adam Schiff.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this censure resolution. Adam
Schiff has denigrated the office which he holds, and the standards of
this very body. The American people, when they elect their
Representatives, place trust in them that they will act with honesty
and integrity.
Adam Schiff had access to our Nation's secrets and then intentionally
created a web of lies, falsely alleging his tales of foreign
interference and Russia collusion. He perpetrated blatant falsehoods,
publicly, loudly, and repeatedly to the American people.
{time} 1445
How many times did we hear him claim that he had seen evidence of
Russian collusion?
He betrayed the trust of the American people. This resolution will
censure Schiff for his gross abuse of power using his position as
chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to
access our Nation's most sensitive information to then mislead the
American people and his colleagues here in this Congress.
The other side often speaks of decorum and holding up the integrity
of this body. Now it is time for them to put their actions to their
words.
Will they continue to support the lies promoted by the Congressman
from California, or will they vote in favor of maintaining the
integrity of this distinguished body?
I challenge them to vote today for integrity, to vote for truth, and
to vote to censure Adam Schiff in this House.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished
gentleman from New York (Mr. Goldman).
Mr. GOLDMAN of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished
gentleman from Maryland for yielding.
Boy, is Adam Schiff powerful. He can, at once, be the chairman of the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the special counsel
investigating Donald Trump, manage and run the FBI, and be a judge
ruling on FISA applications. It is remarkable that he from his perch in
Congress can do all of that.
Of course, he didn't do any of that. All he did was properly impeach
the President of the United States for his gross abuse of power.
Mr. Speaker, do you want to talk about collusion?
Let me ask my Republican colleagues: If a campaign manager for a
campaign is giving internal information to a Russian intelligence
agent, is that collusion?
Because that was the once-classified information that is now public
and now constitutes collusion. There are so many other issues. There is
nothing in this resolution that is true.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 20 seconds to the
gentleman.
Mr. GOLDMAN of New York. Mr. Speaker, one of my colleagues said that
we will hold Members accountable.
The Republicans are the party of George Santos.
[[Page H3018]]
Whom are they holding accountable?
The guy is an alleged and acknowledged liar and indicted, and the
Republicans protect him every day.
Mr. Speaker, don't lecture us with your projection and your defense
of Donald Trump. It is pathetic, it is beneath you, and it is beneath
this body.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. McClintock).
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I opposed the original version of this
resolution, not to defend Mr. Schiff's lies, but to defend the process
that exposed those lies. We must never punish speech in this House,
only acts. The only way to separate truth from falsehoods or wisdom
from folly is free and open debate. We must never impose excessive
fines that would effectively replace the constitutional two-thirds vote
for expulsion with a simple majority.
This new version removes the fine and focuses instead on specific
acts, most particularly the abuse of his position as Intelligence
Committee chairman by implying he had access to classified information
that did not exist and his placement into the Congressional Record of
the Steele dossier that he knew or should have known was false.
I hope, however, that we will hereafter return to the principles of
due process that the Democrats stripped from our precedents in the last
session.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).
Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I could go point by point and prove that
the resolution is false, but time is short. I will just say: Adam tells
the truth.
He told the truth when we were managers on the first impeachment that
resulted in a bipartisan vote for conviction.
He told the truth when we served on the January 6 Committee and found
that the ex-President was the leader of a plot to overturn the
Constitution and the electoral vote.
Why is this before us today?
The truth hurts, doesn't it?
I think it is before us today because the ex-President has recently
been charged with dozens of felonies.
I am a former chair of the Ethics Committee. This resolution is a
departure from what has been the norm in the Congress in terms of
censure. Not only does this resolution disgrace the MAGA Republicans
who advanced it, but it also disgraces this institution.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Colorado (Mrs. Boebert).
Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Anna Paulina Luna,
for leading on this very important issue.
Adam Schiff is a complete disgrace to our Nation and to our
Constitution. He put the American people through 4 years of an endless
impeachment hoax that he knew from the beginning was a lie. He
represents the worst of permanent Washington, using his position of
trust to lie to the American people.
He received intelligence briefings that other Members and the public
did not have access to. He used this position of trust to lie and to
advance his own partisan agenda. Schiff's disgraceful time in Congress
has destroyed Americans' faith in our institutions.
Today, I am proud to stand with my colleague and friend from Florida,
Anna Paulina Luna, to try to undo some of the damage that Adam Schiff
has done by finally holding this crook accountable.
Today, we are saying that enough is enough by censuring him and
referring him to the Ethics Committee.
He told the American people that he had proof that the Trump campaign
asked the Russians for help in a conspiracy. That was a lie.
He claimed that he was not working with anonymous informants during
the impeachment hoax. That was a lie.
Everyone with common sense knew that Adam Schiff was lying all along,
including the Director of Intelligence, Obama's former Attorney
General, the FBI deputy director, and more. However, Adam Schiff
doubled down on his big lie claiming he had a smoking gun proof of a
conspiracy, but the only conspiracy going on was his conspiracy to
defraud the American people by taking down their duly elected
President.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 2\1/2\ minutes to the
gentlewoman from Colorado.
Mrs. BOEBERT. When Adam Schiff got caught lying, he did what all
liars do and tried to cover the truth even more. He even used his
taxpayer-funded staff to ask Twitter to censor journalists fact-
checking his lies, but Adam Schiff won't get out of this one by calling
in a favor. Today, we are holding him accountable and censuring him for
his lies to the American people.
In order to restore the trustworthiness of the House of
Representatives, every Member should vote to censure Adam Schiff so
that we can speak with one voice to assure the American people that
these lies will not be tolerated.
Mr. Speaker, I urge every one of my colleagues with good and decent
intention to vote for this resolution.
If Adam Schiff has a shred of human decency left, he would resign
from Congress in disgrace. His tombstone should read of his failed
career in Congress and should be one word: liar.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes).
Mr. HIMES: Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland for
yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I just heard the gentleman from Virginia say that this
is not a censure of Donald Trump, and he is right about that, and, boy,
is he right about that because there is no behavior--not a discussion
of how he would handle women, not an attack on this Capitol, and not
the misuse of classified information--that will ever result in a peep
from the Republican majority much less a censure of that behavior. This
is a question of standing, Mr. Speaker, amongst other things, if that
is what you stand upon.
As my colleagues pointed out, we don't hear anything about a
colleague whose entire campaign and entire resume was built on
falsehood. Instead, we hear that Russia was a hoax.
Mr. Speaker, I was there. The investigation began by a Republican
chairman. All these investigations were predicated on the fact that a
Donald Trump foreign policy aide told the Australian ambassador that
they were expecting dirt from the Russians.
The most important thing I can say is that I sat next to Adam Schiff
for years. He is a man of integrity and dignity. This vote, quite
frankly, Mr. Speaker, is a testament to your dignity or lack thereof.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Georgia (Ms. Greene).
Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of things that
happen here in Congress that waste the American people's hard-earned
tax dollars, but one of the most outrageous wastes of hard-earned
taxpayer dollars has been the Russian collusion hoax led by Adam
Schiff.
Adam Schiff lied to American people by leading the fake Russian witch
hunt against President Trump. He weaponized the House Intelligence
Committee to abuse all principles of due process and perpetuate the
lies of Russian collusion, and he did that in the media over and over
again.
His committee conducted approximately 53 interviews during its 2017-
2018 Russia probe. These transcripts from the Director of National
Intelligence, former Obama Attorney General, former Deputy Attorney
General, and the FBI director, among others, proved that there was zero
direct evidence of criminal conspiracy.
He not only refused to release these interview transcripts, but he
also continued to peddle lies to the American people that Russia
interfered in the elections.
He falsely claimed that Russians offered help, that the campaign
accepted help, that the Russians gave help, and that the President made
full use of that help when referring to allegations between President
Trump and Russia during the 2016 election.
In November 2020, he specifically asked Twitter to take action
against spreaders of misinformation by removing content that questioned
his baseless claims of Russian collusion. The biggest spreader of
misinformation was Adam Schiff.
As we know, the Mueller report determined there was no criminal
collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Thanks to the Durham
report, we know now the entire Russian hoax
[[Page H3019]]
was bought and paid for by Hillary Clinton and the DNC.
During the probe, Schiff also abused his position on the Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence and violated civil liberties by
subpoenaing phone records from AT&T and a former Republican colleague
on an entirely baseless claim.
His lies and abuse of power continued during the sham. During the
Hollywood-produced January 6 Committee witch hunt, he and his staff
doctored a text message between Representative Jim Jordan and former
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to deliberately manipulate
information presented to the American people. What a lie.
He displayed a graphic of a text message which cut a sentence in
half--in half--and eliminated the final two paragraphs of a detailed
legal summary that were contained in the original text message.
He did this to peddle more lies to the American people and to
perpetuate the fake narrative that January 6 was an insurrection, and
it was not.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the
gentlewoman.
Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, now Adam Schiff is running for
Senate in California. California has a lot of things messed up, and
California is not the model that the United States needs. As a matter
of fact, their government policies are atrocious.
So if California decides to send Adam Schiff to the Senate, they will
be sending a proven liar, and that is what he is aiming to do. He is
raising money off of being a liar and running for Senate.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Swalwell).
Mr. SWALWELL. Mr. Speaker, this is not a House floor proceeding. This
is a partners meeting of Insurrection, LLC.
I ask them to tell me where Adam was wrong.
He said at the first impeachment: Can we be confident that Donald
Trump will not continue to try to cheat this 2020 election?
The answer is: No, we can't.
We can't trust this President to do the right thing, not for 1
minute, and not for one election. He will not change, Mr. Speaker, and
you know it.
Was he wrong when that President aimed and sent a mob into this
Chamber and made all of us leave?
Was he wrong when he said that Donald Trump has betrayed our national
security and will do so again? Was he wrong when he said that Donald
Trump stole and shared classified information?
Was he wrong when he said that?
{time} 1500
Maybe he was wrong when he said to the country, you are decent.
Donald Trump is not who you are.
I ask my colleagues: Are you as indecent as Donald Trump? Will you be
remembered as footnotes and foot soldiers in history's books that
chronicle Donald Trump's corruption, or will you be as decent as Adam
Schiff?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks
to the Chair.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Mills).
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in favor of H. Res. 521 to censure and
condemn Congressman Adam Schiff.
The bottom line is this: Congressman Schiff utilized his position and
hid behind classifications to mislead the American people.
He abused his congressional authority and security clearance to push
his own party's political agenda. This was not meant to be an unbiased
jurisdiction of change; this was meant to be a political witch hunt.
When Members are appointed to the select committees on intelligence,
they are trusted with privileged information. Other Members of the
House are taking them for their word.
As someone who has worked within the intelligence community, I can
tell you that our classifications that were available to take and read
is not to be abused for our own ulterior motives.
I hope my colleagues will join Congresswoman Luna to censure and hold
Congressman Schiff accountable and to put an end to the waste, fraud,
abuse, and the gross neglect in how we take advantage of the American
people.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I just want to observe that there are dozens
of Members on our side who have come to stand with Mr. Schiff, and it
appears to have been evacuated on the other side. There is nobody
standing with the Luna resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms.
Garcia).
Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Adam Schiff is tough. Adam Schiff
is smart. Adam Schiff gets the job done. Adam Schiff holds the powerful
accountable.
That is exactly why we are here today. Extreme MAGA Republicans are
trying to punish our colleague for doing his job, holding the twice-
impeached, twice-indicted former President accountable.
The MAGA wing of the Republican Party can't stop Adam. My friend Adam
Schiff will always fight to defend our democracy. He will always do
what is right.
Trump's pals in Congress can create whole committees to defend him.
They can try threatening outrageous fines. They can try to outright
waste all of our time trying to prop up a man that has threatened our
democracy over and over again.
It is no surprise that former President Donald Trump was in a Miami
courthouse last week, and we are here today discussing this topic.
Mr. Speaker, we have to stop enabling this nonsense. When the whole
House entertains conspiracy theories, nonsense, and political
vendettas, it is the entire GOP that is responsible.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean), a member of the second House impeachment team.
Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to
H. Res. 521 because this is not a serious resolution.
This is political theater by the author, who clearly was not here, to
distract from Donald Trump's history of transgressions and now
indictments. It is also an attempt to punish Congressman Adam Schiff
for effectively holding Trump to account.
Congressman Schiff protected us from fascism at home and abroad.
First, on the so-called perfect call, Donald Trump withheld a meeting
and crucial weapons from President Zelenskyy to protect Ukraine from
Russia unless they gave him dirt on now-President Joe Biden.
Mr. Schiff stepped up as chairman of the Intelligence Committee and
eventually as lead manager to defend against executive corruption.
Then, when the former President lost the 2020 election and summoned
his supporters to storm this very Capitol, Mr. Schiff stood up again on
the January 6th Committee to expose the former President's grotesque
role.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 10 seconds to the
gentlewoman from Pennsylvania.
Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I don't know why my colleagues
are so intimidated here, but I think it reveals their weakness.
They are intimidated by a bully, and this censure attempt reveals
they are also intimidated by a patriot and the truth. Lucky us to serve
with Adam Schiff.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Wyoming (Ms. Hageman).
Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I take my duties as Wyoming's lone
congressional Representative very seriously, and my obligation to be
honest and trustworthy is the foundation of my ability to carry them
out.
This privileged resolution isn't about politics. It is about the
seriousness of being honest and forthright as a Member of Congress and
upholding the oath of office that we all take upon being sworn in.
It is true that the gentleman from California wouldn't be the first
Member of Congress to exaggerate or stretch the truth; however,
willfully lying about serious issues our country has faced is something
entirely different and claiming that a sitting President has committed
what amounts to treason is beyond simple hyperbole.
[[Page H3020]]
This Member's lies led to the wasting of millions of taxpayer dollars
for unnecessary investigations and the deflection of our attention from
the most pressing issues at hand to focus on a made-up crisis.
This Member's actions were designed to delegitimize the 2016 election
and to hamstring the Trump administration.
For all the talk about not accepting the election results in 2020,
perhaps Democrats and the media, which are mostly one and the same,
might want to look at their actions in 2016.
To make matters worse, this Representative perpetuated these lies
while he was chair of the House Intelligence Committee and consistently
implied, if not outright stated, that he had inside information.
In that capacity, he lied about the following:
How the FBI and DOJ obtained and renewed a FISA warrant; that FBI and
DOJ officials did not omit material information from the FISA warrant;
how the DOJ used the Steele dossier; what was collected by the FISA
warrant; the FBI's vetting process for the Steele dossier; that he had
an alleged smoking gun showing that President Trump colluded with
Russia.
Each of these claims has proven to be false.
The lies have continued. In fact, they have become compulsive, and
they continue right through to this very day.
The lies weaken this body, and if left unchecked, threaten the rule
of law, our election integrity, and the civil rights of his targets.
The words and actions of this Member were dangerous and untrue--
knowingly untrue. There must be a serious consequence for that. Being
censured is the least of what he should be subjected to, and I support
this resolution.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the distinguished
gentleman from California (Mr. Mullin).
Mr. MULLIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the
resolution. This latest stunt reeks of partisan politics and does
nothing but advance an extremist agenda. Worst of all, this resolution
attacks a great defender of democracy, a Member who is among our best.
There is a legitimate role for censure in this institution, but the
majority has debased it and rendered it meaningless in a cheap partisan
slap. Shameful.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I take a second to thank all of my colleagues from across the aisle
who have spoken today for putting themselves on the Record defending
the Russia collusion hoax, even after the Burisma payments to Hunter
Biden and the big guy have been made public. The Congressional Record
is a very useful accountability tool.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, they defend the big lie, they defend the
insurrection, they defend George Santos, but they attack Adam Schiff.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr.
Carson).
Mr. CARSON. Mr. Speaker, what I do know is that Adam Schiff defended
the U.S. Constitution. He led an impartial investigation which followed
the facts and led to the first of two impeachments of a former
President.
As a senior member of the Intelligence Committee, I have had the
honor of working closely with Mr. Schiff for years.
He is a man of integrity, and he deeply loves this country like we
all do. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this dangerous and
purely vindictive attempt to silence someone because of his work to
hold Donald Trump accountable.
I urge my colleagues not to be fooled by these distractions. Don't
ignore the facts. This resolution is a fig leaf to hide the very clear
facts about a twice-impeached President, a twice-indicted ex-President
who has put our national security at risk.
I urge my colleagues to stop these political games and get back to
the business of the American people.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), the ranking member of the Rules
Committee.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, Republicans care more about personal
vendettas and sucking up to Trump than about doing what is right for
the country.
Adam Schiff has been an incredible Member of Congress. He exposed
Trump's lies and corruption, impeached him, and got a bipartisan
conviction vote in the Senate. He has passed real and consequential
laws that solve real problems and help real people.
What has the sponsor of this censure done? What is Congresswoman
Luna's record? I want her constituents to know in her congressional
career, five of the six legislative items she has ever introduced are
about Adam Schiff. Doesn't she have anything better to do--like, I
don't know, help her district?
This is what is known as lunacy, and it is all about deflection,
retaliation, and distraction from Trump's 37 felony charges.
The people who came up with the big lie want to censure Adam Schiff
for telling the obvious truth, all so they can defend a three-time
loser ex-President who has been indicted more times than he has been
elected.
What an embarrassing day for this institution. What an insult to the
American people. I urge a ``no'' vote, and I stand proudly with
Congressman Schiff.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member of the Rules
Committee for those astute remarks. I note that dozens of Members of
our caucus have come to stand with Mr. Schiff today, while the sponsor
of this resolution, Mrs. Luna, appears to be completely isolated over
on her side of the aisle.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I
remind people that this is on behalf of the American people in
restoring order to the House and in an effort to bring back trust,
which is something that this institution has lacked for many years.
I am very proud and I own my vote in saying that I will be voting for
the censure of Adam Schiff.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi).
Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Mr. Speaker, in reviewing this censure measure, I
am reminded of Will Rogers' quip: ``I don't make jokes. I just watch
the government and report the facts.''
This month, despite the pressing needs of the American people, we
have spent a week and a half arguing about gas stoves. Next week it
will be about toaster ovens.
Today, we are voting on a joke of a measure to censure Adam Schiff, a
true public servant and patriot. I urge a strong ``no'' against this
resolution targeting a true American hero.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Crow), a member of the first impeachment team.
Mr. CROW. Mr. Speaker, here are some facts.
Fact number one, Donald Trump remains one of the greatest dangers to
our democracy that we have ever seen, and he is a demagogue.
Fact number two, demagogues don't like people who call them out, who
speak the truth, and who pose a threat to their grand designs to
destroy our democracy.
Fact number three, I have spent my life serving this country in
uniform, out of uniform, and I would be hard-pressed to find somebody
who is more committed to democracy, who has more integrity, and who is
more committed to the rule of law than Adam Schiff.
I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reject this
absurd proposal, to set yourself free from your servitude of Donald
Trump so we can move forward as a country.
Set yourself free. You know the truth, and the truth shall set you
free.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
As a United States Air Force veteran and a proud Mexican-American
woman that happens to be almost 8 months pregnant, I say that in regard
to integrity, what happened in this country, what happened with the
divide that occurred after the fact that the Russia
[[Page H3021]]
collusion hoax was pushed down the throats of the American people is
not what I would consider integrity.
If we want to talk about these little fun games and comments back and
forth, we are not here about Donald Trump. We are not here about
January 6. We are here about the former chairman of the Intelligence
Committee who used a lie that broke apart this country.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, we are here precisely because of Donald
Trump, because he wants this retribution exacted against Adam Schiff
for standing up against Donald Trump's lies and assaults on American
democracy.
I congratulate the gentlewoman on her forthcoming baby. That is
awesome news. I am wondering if she would share some of her time with
me because I have started to run out of time, and she has no speakers
over on her side, so consider that.
In the meantime, I recognize for 1 minute the gentlewoman from
Colorado (Ms. DeGette). I recognize for 1 minute the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Neguse).
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr.
Thompson), the chairman of the January 6th Select Committee.
{time} 1515
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me the time.
Mr. Speaker, with all the challenges our Nation faces today, why are
we relitigating the ex-President's first impeachment from 2019?
After a similar resolution failed last week, why are extreme MAGA
Republicans hijacking this House yet again by devoting precious floor
time to attacking my friend and colleague Adam Schiff?
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the leader of their
party is facing trial on 37 felony counts of conspiracy and mishandling
of classified documents. The disgraced ex-President even stored some of
the Nation's most sensitive secrets in the bathroom of his Florida
club.
These attempts to censure Adam have been orchestrated to distract,
but no one is fooled.
Extreme MAGA Republicans are targeting Adam because he is everything
they wish they could be. He is tough, principled, and effective.
I have stood shoulder to shoulder with Adam.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 10 seconds to the
gentleman from Mississippi.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the work we
did on January 6. It speaks for itself.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from
Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon).
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the steadfast patriotism
and integrity of Adam Schiff. This scurrilous resolution is so
dishonest and defamatory that it would justify a lawsuit if it were
made anywhere other than the Halls of Congress.
This is pure political revenge and exposes both the depths to which
the House Republican majority has sunk and their threat to our
constitutional order.
I encourage our colleagues to seriously consider how stunts like this
bring dishonor upon this House and to condemn it unequivocally.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the distinguished
gentleman from California (Mr. Robert Garcia).
Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, this resolution is a
joke.
They are trying to smear Congressman Schiff for his work to defend
our institutions. Meanwhile, the same people who attack Adam Schiff for
seeking the truth refuse to take action against a serial and admitted
fraudster in their own Conference.
Adam Schiff did not win his elections on false pretenses. He has not
been accused of crimes in the U.S., nor has he admitted to crimes in
Brazil. Unfortunately, not all my House colleagues on the Republican
side can say the same.
Thirty-five days ago, every House Republican voted to defend George
Santos. Instead, they want to censure someone who stands for truth and
justice, Adam Schiff.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Sherman).
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, today is a proud day for California, but
particularly for the San Fernando Valley.
Hundreds of Members of this House did their best to protect America
from Donald Trump, but only one did it so well that he is the focus of
this ridiculous resolution. He was effective, he was direct, and Donald
Trump has demanded that he be attacked.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Adam for doing his job so well. California is
proud, and America is grateful.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the distinguished
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro).
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Adam Schiff did his job. That is
why they are trying to censure him today.
Mr. Speaker, he held a mirror up to today's Republican Party, and
they can't stand the ugliness. Instead, they want to protect the most
corrupt, indicted, and perhaps soon-to-be-convicted President of the
United States.
We should vote ``no'' on this censure resolution.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the distinguished
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the former Speaker of the
House of Representatives.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for
his great presentation today.
Today, we are on the floor of the House where the other side has
turned this Chamber where slavery was abolished, where Medicare and
Social Security and everything were instituted, into a puppet show.
Do you know what? The puppeteer, Donald Trump, is shining a light on
the strings. You look miserable. You look miserable.
The only advantage to all of this is that instead of reversing what
we did on the IRA to save the planet or reversing what we did to reduce
the cost of prescription drugs, we are wasting time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 10 seconds to the
gentlewoman from California.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Maryland has
expired.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Again, as I said, this is not about Donald Trump. This is about
holding accountable someone who exploited their official position and
had access to information that most Members of Congress do not have
access to and bringing accountability back to the American people.
Regardless of whatever the gentlewoman from California says or anyone
else, you guys are not being honest about the focus of this resolution
and this censure. That is exactly why we are here today to debate it
out.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman has the only time remaining.
Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the
resolution.
There was no objection.
The question is on adoption of the resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question are postponed.
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