Rep. George Santos of New York.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Rep. Adam Schiff is facing censure for investigating Trump.
He calls the resolution unconstitutional.
Rep. George Santos, who has repeatedly lied and was recently indicted on 13 criminal charges, supports the censure.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday is expected to take up a resolution to censure Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff for his role in investigating former President Donald Trump. The resolution, sponsored by GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, might not make it far. Democrats are likely to call to table it, and would succeed if they get enough Republican support.
But one high-profile Republican in the House, serial liar George Santos of New York, released a video this morning supporting the resolution.
“Congressman Schiff abused his power to pursue the Trump campaign and its campaign staff,” Santos says in a video posted to his Twitter account. “This abhorrent behavior is unacceptable for a member of Congress,” he said, adding: “We must preserve the integrity of the U.S House of Representatives.”
—Rep. George Santos (@RepSantosNY03) June 14, 2023
As CNN reports, the resolution claims Schiff “exploited his positions on HPSCI (House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence) to encourage and excuse abusive intelligence investigations of Americans for political purposes.” It also says Schiff “behaved dishonestly and dishonorably on many other occasions,” and lays out a litany of charges that Trump has made about Schiff over the years, from “publicly smearing Carter Page” to reciting a “false, concocted rendition of a phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.”
Schiff, who is running for Senate to replace Diane Feinstein, called the resolution “false and defamatory” in a letter to his colleagues on Tuesday.
“This partisan resolution to censure and fine me $16 million is only the latest attempt to gratify the former President’s MAGA allies, and distract from Donald Trump’s legal troubles by retaliating against me for my role in exposing his abuses of power, and leading the first impeachment against him,” he wrote.
The Santos-supported resolution calls for the fine because, it claims, Schiff “lied, made misrepresentations and abused sensitive information.”
Schiff told CNN the fine is “unconstitutional and unenforceable,” and it appears to be a sticking point for his colleagues across the aisle.
“Adam Schiff acted unethically but if a resolution to fine him $16 million comes to the floor, I will vote to table it. (vote against it) In fact, I’m still litigating a federal lawsuit against Pelosi over a salary reduction she imposed on me for my refusal to wear a mask,” GOP Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie tweeted Wednesday morning. He also called the fine unconstitutional.
Last month, a grand jury indicted Santos on 13 criminal charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, and theft. He’s pleaded not guilty and is due back in court later this month. He’s facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Beyond his legal troubles, Santos has lied about his education, his employment history, his residence, his religious background, and more.
Luna, who sponsored the censure resolution, is one of the few members of Congress continuing to stand by Santos. The Washington Post has reported that, like Santos, she may have misrepresented herself in claiming to have Jewish heritage.