Layman's Explanation of H. Res. 437

H. Res. 437 is a resolution introduced in the House of Representatives that aims to censure and condemn Adam Schiff, who is a Representative from California's 30th Congressional District.

The resolution begins by stating that the allegations of collusion between President Donald Trump and Russia to influence the 2016 Presidential election have been proven false by several investigations, including one conducted by Special Counsel John Durham. These investigations have shown that the conspiracy theory about collusion was made up, financed, and spread by political rivals of President Trump.

It goes on to mention that Adam Schiff, who served as the ranking minority member and then Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, had access to sensitive intelligence information that most Members of Congress didn't have. However, the resolution claims that Schiff abused this trust by repeatedly citing evidence of collusion that doesn't actually exist, as confirmed by reports from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, and Special Counsel Durham.

The resolution also accuses Schiff of lending credibility to the Steele dossier, which contains debunked collusion accusations against President Trump. Schiff is said to have read false allegations from the Steele dossier into the Congressional Record during a House of Representatives hearing in 2017.

Furthermore, it highlights that Schiff composed a false memo justifying the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant application on Trump associate Carter Page, which was later found to contain major mistakes and omissions by Inspector General Horowitz. This led the FISA Court Presiding Judge to state that the FBI misled the court.

By publicly smearing Carter Page and justifying investigations against him, Schiff is accused of contributing to the violation of Page's civil liberties. The resolution argues that this goes against the purpose of the committee Schiff was a part of, which is supposed to identify and prevent such abuses.

The resolution also mentions other instances where Schiff is alleged to have behaved dishonestly and dishonorably. For example, it claims Schiff denied that his staff coordinated with a whistleblower to launch the first impeachment of President Trump, among other things.

Lastly, the resolution states that as part of his impeachment efforts, Schiff recited a false version of a phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during an HPSCI hearing in 2019. It also accuses Schiff of using his positions on the committee to encourage and excuse intelligence investigations of American citizens for political purposes.

As a result of Schiff's actions, the resolution claims that American taxpayers paid $32 million for an investigation into collusion that was based on lies, misrepresentations, and abuses of sensitive information.

The resolution concludes with four resolutions: 1) censuring and condemning Schiff for misleading the American people and behaving in a way unbecoming of a Representative; 2) Schiff must present himself in the House for the pronouncement of censure; 3) Schiff will be censured with the public reading of the resolution by the Speaker; and 4) Schiff will be fined $16,000,000.