Adam Schiff delivered his final argument for the impeachment of President Donald Trump in the House’s final uninterrupted pitch to Republican senators on the fence, urging the Senate to “give America a fair trial” with additional witnesses and documents.
House Intelligence Chairman gave his 67-minute final speech to wrapping up the three-day case against Trump in the House, in which the California Democrat and lead impeachment manager argued the case that Trump abused his office and obstructed Congress was proven — and he urged senators to find the courage to go against what might be popular opinion in their states, CNN reports.
“One of the things that we in this fellowship of office-holders understand that most people don’t is that real political courage doesn’t come from disagreeing with our opponents, but from disagreeing with our friends. And with our own party,” Schiff said. “What happens when our heartfelt views of right and wrong are in conflict with the popular opinion of our constituents? What happens when our devotion to our oaths, to our values, to our love of country, to part from the momentary passion from a large number of people back home?”
But after three days of arguments from the House managers, GOP sources in the Senate and White House say they are confident they will defeat a motion next week calling for a subpoena of witnesses and documents, arguing they have successfully kept their caucus in line amid the Democrats’ opening arguments.
The White House and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have been laying the groundwork for weeks to lock down opposition to moving forward on new witnesses, including a lunch this week with former Attorney General Michael Mukasey who argued about the thorny legal issues ahead if Trump were to assert executive privileges for witnesses sought by Democrats.
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