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Motion To Censure Adam Schiff Introduced After Schiff's 'Blatantly False Retelling of' Trump's Ukraine Call

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House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff is facing the fire after he fabricated quotes from President Donald Trump during acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire’s testimony Thursday before lawmakers.

The California Democrat later acknowledged his remarks were a “parody” of what Trump actually said.

But that admission wasn’t enough for Republican Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs.

In a news release Friday, Biggs’ office said the congressman had introduced a motion “to condemn and censure” Schiff “for his false retelling” of a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“During yesterday’s hearing, Chairman Schiff’s opening statement included a blatantly false retelling of President Trump’s conversation with the Ukrainian president,” Biggs said in a statement.

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“Democrats previously initiated an impeachment inquiry, which leads to one of the most serious, constitutional duties of Members of Congress: removal of the President of the United States. Through this process, if the President has committed high crimes or misdemeanors, Congress may overturn the election of the President and the will of the American people,” he added.

The statement concluded: “It is therefore inexcusable to toy with the process and mislead the American public with such a statement.”

Do you think Schiff should be censured?

In a video posted on Twitter, Biggs called Schiff’s behavior “inexcusable,” and noted that if a member of the public heard Schiff’s fabricated quotes, but not his clarification, “you would think the most gross, egregious conduct took place.”

“And yet when you looked at the transcript, it would have no relationship to what the chairman read,” Biggs said.

So what exactly did Schiff say that Biggs took issue with?

“The essence of what the president communicates” during his call with Zelensky, Schiff said Thursday, was as follows: “We’ve been very good to your country. Very good. No other country has done as much as we have. But you know what? I don’t see much reciprocity here.”

“I hear what you want,” the congressman continued. “I have a favor I want from you, though. And I’m going to say this only seven times so you better listen good: I want you to make up dirt on my political opponent. Understand? Lots of it, on this and on that. I’m going to put you in touch with people, not just any people, I’m going to put you in touch with the attorney general of the United States, my attorney general, Bill Barr.”

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“He’s got the whole weight of the American law enforcement behind him. And I’m going to put you in touch with [Trump attorney] Rudy [Giuliani], you’re going to love him, trust me.”

And Schiff wasn’t done.

“You know what I’m asking, and so I’m only going to say this a few more times, in a few more ways. And by the way, don’t call me again. I’ll call you when you’ve done what I asked,” he said.

Schiff then claimed “this was in sum and character what the president was trying to communicate with the president of Ukraine. It would be funny if it wasn’t such a graphic betrayal of the president’s oath of office.” Later, he said the fabricated quotes were a “parody,” but argued the fact that some people couldn’t realize that was a problem in and of itself.

Biggs’ motion to censure Schiff blasts the California congressman for having “manufactured a false retelling of the conversation between President Trump and President Zelensky.”

“This egregiously false and fabricated retelling had no relationship to the call itself,” the motion reads.

“These actions of Chairman Schiff misled the American people, bring disrepute upon the House of Representatives, and make a mockery of the impeachment process, one of this chamber’s most solemn constitutional duties.”

After detailing Schiff’s role in spreading now-disproven allegations that Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election, the motion calls for Schiff to be censured.

“Resolved, that … The House of Representatives censures and condemns Representative Adam Schiff for conduct that misleads the American people in a way that is not befitting an elected Member of the House of Representatives,” the resolution reads.

Biggs wasn’t the only one who took issue with Schiff’s performance at the hearing on Thursday.

Trump himself has called for Schiff to resign.

“Rep. Adam Schiff totally made up my conversation with Ukraine President and read it to Congress and Millions,” Trump tweeted Friday.

“He must resign and be investigated. He has been doing this for two years. He is a sick man!”

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Joe Setyon was a deputy managing editor for The Western Journal who had spent his entire professional career in editing and reporting. He previously worked in Washington, D.C., as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine.
Joe Setyon was deputy managing editor for The Western Journal with several years of copy editing and reporting experience. He graduated with a degree in communication studies from Grove City College, where he served as managing editor of the student-run newspaper. Joe previously worked as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine, a libertarian publication in Washington, D.C., where he covered politics and wrote about government waste and abuse.
Birthplace
Brooklyn, New York
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