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Tag: adam schiff
Kevin McCarthy

Under Threat From Far Right, McCarthy Announces Impeachment Inquiry

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced on Tuesday that he wants Republican lawmakers to launch a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, officially ceding to the demands of a large chunk of the Republican conference that has demanded McCarthy allow such an inquiry or else be stripped of his gavel.

McCarthy made a brief statement from the Capitol, saying, “Over the past several months, House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct — a culture of corruption.”

However, House Republicans have not presented any evidence of corruption on the part of Biden, despite their months’ worth of efforts.

In fact, McCarthy is not holding a floor vote to officially launch the inquiry, despite saying just 11 days ago that he would hold a vote.

“To open an impeachment inquiry is a serious matter, and House Republicans would not take it lightly or use it for political purposes. The American people deserve to be heard on this matter through their elected representatives. That’s why, if we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the People’s House and not through a declaration by one person,” McCarthy told Breitbart News, according to Fox News on September 2.

McCarthy isn’t holding a vote because he does not have the 218 votes he needs from his slim majority. A handful of GOP lawmakers have said that there is not enough evidence to warrant an inquiry.

“I think before we move on to [an] impeachment inquiry, we should … there should be a direct link to the president in some evidence,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told The Hill in August. “We should have some clear evidence of a high crime or misdemeanor, not just assuming there may be one. I think we need to have more concrete evidence to go down that path.”

Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) criticized Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has pushed for impeachment, noting that she’d filed articles of impeachment before Biden was inaugurated and calling it absurd to think that she is an expert on such proceedings.

“The time for impeachment is the time when there’s evidence linking President Biden, if there’s evidence linking President Biden to a high crime or misdemeanor,” Buck said on MSNBC on Monday. “That doesn’t exist right now. … It’s based on the facts. You go where the facts take you.”

Some Senate Republicans say they too are not eager for an impeachment inquiry.

“My solution to changing things around here is to win elections,” Sen. John Thune (R-SD) toldPunchbowl News’ Andrew Desiderio. “But [McCarthy]’s under a lot of pressure over there.”

Meanwhile, Congress faces a critical deadline to fund the government and avoid a shutdown.

GOP lawmakers want McCarthy to allow spending bills that include steep cuts to the federal budget, violating an agreement McCarthy made with Biden on spending limits earlier this year. Those lawmakers are threatening to oust McCarthy from the speakership if he doesn’t heed their demands.

PBS reported that launching the impeachment inquiry, however, could mollify this contingent of lawmakers.

“We’ve got to seize the initiative. That means forcing votes on impeachment. And if @SpeakerMcCarthy stands in our way, he may not have the job long,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) tweeted on September 5. “Let’s hope he works with us, not against us.”

Polling shows launching an impeachment inquiry could harm the GOP politically.

A Public Policy Polling survey from the end of August found 56 percent of voters believe a Republican impeachment inquiry “would be more of a partisan political stunt,” with 51 percent saying the Republican inquiry would be “more about damaging President Biden politically” than about finding the truth.

Democrats, for their part, mocked McCarthy for launching the inquiry.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who was an investigator and a manager in the successful impeachments of former President Donald Trump, tweeted: “McCarthy’s reading of the Impeachment Clause: The President shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or … when the Speaker, lacking moral authority or control over his members, can’t remain speaker or fund the government without it.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said in a statement that McCarthy’s announcement “makes clear that so-called moderate House Republicans and Kevin McCarthy are beholden to Trump and the extremes of their party, not the American people.”

“The split-screen of MAGA House Republicans pursuing a purely partisan agenda while House Democrats fight to rebuild our economy and create jobs will show voters once and for all that only one party is focused on the issues facing everyday Americans,” DCCC communications director Courtney Rice said.

Reprinted with permission from American Independent.

Adam Schiff

Attempt To Censure Adam Schiff Fails In House With 196 GOP Votes

One hundred and ninety six House Republicans voted on Wednesday to advance a resolution censuring Rep. Adam Schiff for his criticisms of former President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia. The resolution, which was tabled on a 225-196 vote, falsely claimed that Schiff lied about Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election in support of Trump and recommended that the California Democrat be fined $16 million. Seven members voted present.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) introduced the resolution “censuring and condemning Adam Schiff” with 10 Republican co-sponsors on Friday. On Tuesday, she brought it to the House floor for consideration.

“Schiff just hit the fan,” she tweeted.

The resolution reads in part:

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 (HPSCI), 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 citing 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—does not exist;

Whereas, by repeatedly telling these falsehoods, Representative Schiff purposely deceived his Committee, Congress, and the American people.

It also would order an ethics investigation into Schiff, stating, “Whereas if it is determined by an investigation conducted by the Committee on Ethics that Representative Schiff lied, made misrepresentations, and abused sensitive information, he should be fined in the amount of $16,000,000.”

Mueller’s March 2019 report did not actually exonerate Trump or his campaign of working with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime to win the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

In fact, it documented several suspicious interactions and connections, finding that “while the investigation identified numerous links between individuals with ties to the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump Campaign, the evidence was not sufficient to support criminal charges” and that “several individuals affiliated with the Trump Campaign lied to the Office, and to Congress, about their interactions with Russian-affiliated individuals and related matters.”

Schiff, who was chair of the House Permanent Select Committee On Intelligence at the time the report was issued, documented numerous examples of improper contacts between Russia and Trump’s campaign in a speech at a committee hearing that month:

My colleagues might think it’s okay that the Russians offered dirt on the Democratic candidate for president as part of what’s described as the Russian government’s effort to help the Trump campaign. You might think that’s okay. My colleagues might think it’s okay that when that was offered to the son of the president, who had a pivotal role in the campaign, that the president’s son did not call the FBI, he did not adamantly refuse that foreign help. No, instead that son said he would love the help of the Russians. You might think it was okay that he took that meeting.

The resolution garnered the backing of House Republican leadership. “I support @RepLuna’s resolution to censure Adam Schiff, and I’m working with her on the best timing to bring it to the House Floor to help it pass,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise tweeted Tuesday.

But Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie objected to the language urging a massive fine, calling it unconstitutional. “The Constitution says the House may make its own rules but we can’t violate other (later) provisions of the Constitution,” he tweeted on Wednesday. “A $16 million fine is a violation of the 27th and 8th amendments.”

Schiff made note of the timing of the resolution, tweeting Tuesday: “On the day of Trump’s arraignment, MAGA Republicans introduced a resolution to censure and fine me to the tune of $16 million. Their problem with me — I hold them accountable and I’m effective. They don’t go after people they’re not afraid of.”

Since becoming a member of Congress in January, Luna has filed four pieces of legislation; three of them have been resolutions against Schiff, including one to expel him from the House of Representatives.

On Friday, after Trump was indicted on 37 federal felony counts, she told Fox Business, “It’s very likely that this president is going to be impeached — and by that I mean Joe Biden.”

Reprinted with permission from American Independent.

WATCH Rep. Schiff Reveals Why Meadows Must Be Held In Contempt

WATCH Rep. Schiff Reveals Why Meadows Must Be Held In Contempt


Rep Adam Schiff (D-CA), the leading voice of strength and opposition during the Trump administration who currently serves on the January 6th select committee and also chairs the House Intelligence Committee, reminded MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell about just how serious the various texts sent to then-White House Chief Of Staff Mark Meadows during the insurrection were. Schiff began by calling out all the Trumplican sycophants at Fox News and in Congress.

"I think the texts expose the hypocrisy of those at the Fox News personalities, lawmakers, and former President in trying to downplay now what was going on that day. You could see the sense of urgency that President do something as the attack was going on."

Of course, there's no disputing that many of Trump's lap dogs were in a frenzy that day to get Trump to actually stop the barbarians from sacking the Republic. But the real coup de grace is how these texts essentially confirm that Meadows should be held in contempt.

Rep. Schiff Explains Why Mark Meadows' Texts Were NOT Privileged


Schiff Warns Trump Coup Lawyer Against Defying January 6 Panel Summons

Schiff Warns Trump Coup Lawyer Against Defying January 6 Panel Summons

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet

John Eastman, the far-right lawyer who authored Trump's "coup memo," announced on Friday that he would be defying a subpoena from the House January 6 Committee.

Appearing on CNN later in the day, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) made clear that Eastman is free to plead the Fifth if he has a good-faith reason to fear he could incriminate himself — but that doesn't entitle him to a free pass to ignore investigators.

"Eastman says the partisan makeup of the committee, he says makes it invalid and doesn't need to cooperate," said anchor Wolf Blitzer. "What do you say to that?"

"Well, that was a frivolous argument," said Schiff. "If he uses that as a basis to refuse to answer questions, he will be in contempt of the committee, simple and straightforward. So we'll be seeing with each witness... whether they're properly invoking a privilege or to stall and delay for the former president, and will make the judgment as to what the repercussions should be once we see and hear the testimony.

"This comes after former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was indicted on contempt charges for ignoring the committee, and as former DOJ lawyer Jeffrey Clark faces an upcoming contempt vote by Congress.


Watch below: