FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., introduced a resolution that would fine Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., $16 million for his claims that former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.
Luna says that amount is about half of the cost of the federal investigation into alleged Trump-Russia collusion, which was debunked by special counsel reports from both Robert Mueller and John Durham.
“The GOP Conference agrees that Adam Schiff has betrayed the trust of the American people, purposely abused positions of extreme authority, lied continuously, and as such, must be held to account,” Luna said. “Accordingly, the resolution requires Rep. Schiff to pay a $16 million dollar fine, half of the cost American taxpayers were forced to pay for the Russia hoax investigation.”
Luna’s resolution said as chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), Schiff had a position of “extreme trust” that gave him access to sensitive information not available to other members, but Schiff “abused this trust” by citing evidence of collusion that later special counsel reports showed did not exist.
“By repeatedly telling these falsehoods, Representative Schiff purposely deceived his Committee, Congress, and the American people,” the resolution said. It noted that Schiff “lent credibility” to the Steele dossier, supported a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant against Trump aide Carter Page, and publicly accused Page of being a Russian collaborator.
“Representative Schiff exploited his positions on HPSCI to encourage and excuse abusive intelligence investigations of Americans for political purposes,” it said. “Representative Schiff used his position and access to sensitive information to instigate a fraudulently based investigation, which he then used to amass political gain and fundraising dollars.”
“American taxpayers paid $32 million to fund the investigation into collusion that was launched as a result of Rep. Schiff’s lies, misrepresentations, and abuses of sensitive information,” it added.
The resolution “censures and condemns” Schiff for “conduct that misleads the American people in a way that is not befitting an elected Member of the House” and declares that Schiff is fined $16 million.
“It is the obligation of House Leadership to back up this motion for the American people and hold this feckless man accountable,” Luna said.
Last week, Luna introduced a separate resolution to expel Schiff from Congress for abusing his position on the intelligence committee.
Durham released a report last week that found significant FBI failures and no evidence that Trump’s campaign was coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Schiff spent years arguing there was evidence to the contrary. He said in 2017 that the “evidence is not circumstantial.”
Last week, Schiff said Luna’s resolution to expel him from Congress was “payback” for his effort to hold Trump accountable.
“A MAGA Republican Member of Congress just filed a motion to expel me from the U.S. House of Representatives. I stood up to Donald Trump and held extreme MAGA forces accountable,” Schiff, who is running for the Senate, said on Twitter last week. “Now they want payback. They’ll go after anyone who defends the rule of law.”