Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has announced the introduction of the “Preventing Extreme Negligence with Classified Information Licenses” (PENCIL) Resolution, which looks to prevent Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) from receiving security clearances to classified information as well as launching an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
The resolution would also have Rep. Schiff’s comments concerning the alleged Trump-Russia collusion “officially struck from the record.”
“Congressman Adam Schiff led the effort for years to weaponize lies from the Clinton campaign and a corrupt Department of Justice to smear President Trump while destroying any trust the country had left in America’s intelligence agencies,” said Rep. Gaetz in a press release.
The word “pencil” is a reference to former President Trump’s (R) comments about Schiff in which he called him a “pencil neck.”
Surprisingly, after Gaetz held the line and refused to vote for now-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the Florida Congressman mentioned that McCarthy “kept his promise” to take Schiff off of the Intelligence Committee.
However, Gaetz wants to go further.
“Speaker McCarthy kept his promise to remove Rep. Schiff from the Intelligence Committee, and with the PENCIL Resolution, we will express the sense of Congress that he should be barred from accessing any classified information at all. He can no longer be trusted by his colleagues in Congress or the American people,” said Rep. Gaetz.
During the time of the Trump-Russia collusion debacle, Rep. Schiff stated that there was “clear evidence on the issue of collusion” and that the Trump campaign accepted help from the Russians in order to win the Presidency.
