House votes down effort to censure Trump nemesis Adam Schiff

A move by a freshman Republican to fine Adam Schiff $16 million for promoting the now-debunked narrative that Donald Trump collaborated with Russia to influence the 2016 election failed on the House floor on Wednesday.

20 Republicans voted against the measure along with Democrats, which failed by a vote of 225 to 196.

There were seven legislators who voted “present.”

Anna Paulina Luna, a 34-year-old lawmaker representing Florida, said Tuesday she was moving the impeachment resolution against California’s Schiff.

She accused the Democratic congressman, now a Senate candidate, of spouting a “conspiracy theory” about Trump’s ties to Russia.

“The allegation that President Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 presidential election has been proven false by numerous in-depth investigations.

“The conspiracy theory was created, funded and spread by President Trump’s political rivals,” she added, saying the fine would be half the cost of the Russian investigations to taxpayers.

Trump loyalist Luna also said that as chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Schiff enjoyed and abused special access to “sensitive information unavailable to most members of Congress.”

Luna also pointed to the recently published John Durham report that shook up the FBI’s investigation into the claims.

Durham said investigators had placed too much emphasis on unverified intelligence provided by ex-British spy Christopher Steele.

She denounced the file as being full of “denied collusion allegations.”

Schiff, 62, claimed the move was “to deflect charges against Trump and get revenge on me for impeaching him.”

“I’m not going backwards,” he wrote on Twitter. ‘This will not stop me from standing up for our democracy.’

He also posted a link to his fundraiser in which he tries to replace the ailing Dianne Feinstein, who said she would step down at the end of her current term next year.

Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky said earlier Wednesday that he would vote against the resolution.

“Adam Schiff acted unethically, but if a proposal comes along to fine him $16 million, I will vote to file it. (vote against),’ he tweeted.

“The Constitution says the House can make its own rules, but we can’t violate any other (subsequent) provisions of the Constitution. A $16 million fine is a violation of the 27th and 8th Amendments.”

Such reprimands are reserved for serious offenses that fall short of the expulsion threshold, and only five members have been expelled in U.S. history.

Trump was in court in Miami on Tuesday (June 13) to face federal charges over allegations that he mishandled classified documents when leaving the White House

Schiff said Luna’s motion was just a PR stunt to divert attention from Trump’s hearing Tuesday

The recent investigation by John Durham has since debunked any evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia in the election.

Durham’s job, under an order from then-Attorney General Barr, was to investigate the origins of Crossfire Hurricane, which launched in July 2016, as well as Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s subsequent investigation launched in May 2017.

But the special counsel said senior FBI personnel demonstrated “a serious lack of analytical rigor” and a “significant reliance on investigative leads provided or funded (directly or indirectly) by Trump’s political opponents.”

The former commander-in-chief has repeatedly clashed with the top Democrat, calling him “Shifty Schiff” for his repeated accusations that he was in cahoots with Vladimir Putin.

House speaker Kevin McCarthy removed Schiff from his post as chairman of the intelligence community once he assumed his new role.