'Stop lying': Congressman smacks down GOP colleague for ill-conceived plot to censure Adam Schiff

A House GOP resolution seeking to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) for supposedly making false statements about former President Donald Trump's association with Russia in 2016 ended in defeat this week as 20 Republican representatives voted with Democrats to sink the measure.

One of the resolution's key proponents, freshman Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), vowed to try again on Twitter. "20 Republicans voted against the recommended fine, censure, and investigation of Schiff," she wrote. "I don’t think they read the bill in entirety. Next week, we will be filing a motion to censure and investigate Schiff. We are removing fine as that seems to be what made these Republicans uneasy."

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), however, quickly smacked her down — and pointed out there's no evidence Schiff lied about the Russia affair in the first place.

"A few suggestions for you," tweeted Goldman, an attorney who formerly worked on Trump's second impeachment. "1) Read the Mueller and OIG reports, both of which explain that the Steele dossier was irrelevant to opening the Russia investigation or the convictions of Trump campaign members. 2) do some research about what 'evidence' means. 3) Stop lying."

This is not the first move Republicans have made to single out Schiff, the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, for punishment since taking a narrow majority last year. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) removed him from the committee after taking the gavel, ostensibly for lying about whether he knew the identity of the whistleblower who triggered Trump's first impeachment — although there's no actual evidence Schiff lied about that.

The 20 House Republicans who voted against censuring and fining Schiff came from all sides of the caucus, from vulnerable swing-district incumbents like Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), to far-right Freedom Caucus figures like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who said, "The Constitution says the House may make its own rules but we can’t violate other (later) provisions of the Constitution. A $16 million fine is a violation of the 27th and 8th amendments."