Updated at 7:21 A.M. EDT, June 22, 2023.

The Congressman from California, Adam Schiff, following his censure on the floor of the House, will now be investigated by the House Ethics Committee for “falsehoods, misrepresentations and abuses of sensitive information” in connection the campaign to accuse President Trump of collusion with the Russians.

In censuring the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee yesterday, the House of Representatives directed the lower chamber’s Ethics Committee to undertake such an investigation — even as Mr. Schiff launches on the Coast a campaign for the Senate.

The likelihood is that he will finish his career in the House with his reputation dented.

The vote on Wednesday evening to admonish the Democratic Congressman was by a margin of 213 to 209, with multiple House members voting present.

The resolution was first introduced by Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus and close ally of President Trump. A vote was held on Ms. Luna’s censure motion on June 14, but failed because she had attached a $16 million fine to the resolution which many of her Republican colleagues felt was either gratuitous or unconstitutional. After removing the fine, Ms. Luna’s censure resolution passed the chamber. 

“As chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff launched an all out political campaign built on baseless distortions against a sitting U.S. president at the expense of every single citizen in this country and the honor of the House of Representatives,” Ms. Luna said on the House floor Wednesday, adding that the censure was “a clear vote between right and wrong.”

On the House floor, six members of the Ethics Committee voted “present.”

Ms. Luna said she filed the resolution in response to Mr. Schiff’s conduct during the first impeachment of Mr. Trump as well as the California congressman’s insistence that the Trump campaign had colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential election. The resolution further accuses him of acting “dishonestly and dishonorably.”

Mr. Schiff ardently defended himself during a speech on the House floor Wednesday afternoon before the resolution passed. “To my Republican colleagues who introduced this resolution, I thank you,” Mr. Schiff said. “You honor me with your enmity. You flatter me with this falsehood.”

The Coast Democrat added: “You, who are the authors of a big lie about the last election, must condemn the truth-tellers and I stand proudly before you. Your words tell me that I have been effective in the defense of our democracy and I am grateful.” He added that he would wear the “partisan vote as a badge of honor.”

Mr. Schiff, who is aiming to replace Senator Feinstein and has the endorsement of Speaker Pelosi, could benefit from the anger directed at him by his Republican colleagues. When the first censure motion failed on June 14, Mr. Schiff sent out a number of fundraising emails making hay of the GOP effort to condemn him.

The ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, Congressman Jamie Raskin, denounced the resolution on Wednesday, calling the Republican Party an “authoritarian cult.”

“The GOP simply has no ideas for our economy, no ideas for our country, and no ideas for our people,” Mr. Raskin said on the House floor. “But is on an embarrassing revenge tour on behalf of Donald Trump, who treats them like a ventriloquist dummy.”

Censure motions in the House are rare, with only two other members being censured in the 21st century — Congressman Adam Gosar in 2021 for posting a cartoon video on Twitter showing the fictional murder of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Congressman Charles Rangel in 2010 for tax evasion and other financial violations.

Before that, two members were censured in 1983 for engaging in sexual relationships with minors.