GOP effort to censure Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff fails in key vote

A Republican-led effort to censure Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff has failed in a key House vote.

The House voted Wednesday on a motion to table - or kill - the resolution, a motion put forward by House Democrats. Enough Republicans crossed the aisle in support for the effort to succeed in blocking the censure. The vote was 225 to 196 with 20 Republicans voting with Democrats to table the resolution.

The censure resolution, sponsored by GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, broadly criticizes Schiff with a focus on his role in investigations of the former president.

Republicans have long criticized Schiff over congressional inquiries into the former president, arguing that he has made reckless and unsubstantiated claims. Democrats have dismissed GOP criticisms of the California Democrat as partisan and unfounded.

The resolution claims that 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 goes on to accuse him of having "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."

Schiff, in his letter to colleagues, called the resolution "false" and "defamatory," saying it targets him for his "work holding Donald Trump accountable."