On Monday, House Democrats blocked a House Republican resolution to censure Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) for "conduct that misleads the American people in a way that is not befitting an elected member of the House of Representatives." The 218-185 party-line vote effectively killed the resolution, introduced last week by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) to register Republican disapproval of Schiff's handling of the House impeachment inquiry of President Trump. The resolution had been expected to fail.

Echoing Trump, the Republicans accused Schiff of a "false retelling" of the president's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, following the White House's public release of a partial reconstructed transcript of that call. They also criticized Schiff for saying his committee had no contact with the whistleblower when in fact a staffer had counseled the unidentified intelligence officer to follow the procedures set up for whistleblowers inside the intelligence community. After the voting started, Schiff suggested his Republican colleagues were misdirecting their censorious energies.

It will be said of House Republicans,



When they found they lacked the courage to confront the most dangerous and unethical president in American history,



They consoled themselves by attacking those who did. — Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) October 21, 2019

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) echoed that critique in a statement, saying: "What the Republicans fear most is the truth. The president betrayed the oath of office, our national security and the integrity of our elections, and the GOP has not even tried to deny the facts. Instead, Republicans stage confusion, undermine the Constitution and attack the person of whom the president is most afraid." Peter Weber