Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna brought forth a resolution on May 17th to remove California Representative Adam Schiff from the Congress based on his allegations of collusion between Russia and former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Luna’s resolution, known as the PENCIL Resolution, seems to be a reference to Trump’s nickname for Schiff, “Pencil-Neck.” The resolution urges the House Ethics Committee to conduct an investigation into Schiff and recommends that he be denied access to classified information. Furthermore, the resolution proposes that Schiff’s statements regarding Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russian collusion, made during his time in Congress, should be officially invalidated and removed from the official record.
The resolution was introduced in response to the publication of a report by Special Counsel John Durham, who examined the FBI’s inquiry into Trump-Russia connections. The report concluded that the FBI should not have initiated the investigation. Durham further stated that both the Department of Justice and the FBI failed to fulfill their crucial duty of adhering strictly to the law.
Adam Schiff, as the head of the House Intelligence Committee, led the investigation into the alleged connections between Trump and Russia. Over the years, Schiff repeatedly claimed that there was evidence supporting the accusation of collusion. In Durham’s report, it was revealed that in November 2018, a researcher from a university accused a member of Schiff’s staff of making threats when he declined to cooperate with the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation.
Luna took to her personal Twitter account to express her belief that Schiff should undergo an investigation by the House Ethics Committee regarding his assertions of collusion. In her tweet, Luna stated that Schiff persisted in promoting the falsehood of collusion just days after the release of the Durham report.
California Representative Kevin McCarthy, who serves as the House Speaker, made the decision to remove Schiff from his position on the House Intelligence Committee, citing Schiff’s repeated dishonesty towards the American public.
In January, Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida introduced a resolution in response to Schiff’s claims of collusion, aiming to limit Schiff’s access to classified information.
Following California Senator Dianne Feinstein’s announcement that she would not seek re-election in 2024, Schiff declared his intention to run for her seat.
