House Intelligence Chair Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) gave a strong performance against Donald Trump in his impeachment hearing, especially during his closing argument. In spite of the polls nearly reaching 70 percent of the public wanting to see witnesses and evidentiary documents, the Republicans refused to allow it. In the end, many people felt discouraged, but one man offered people some well-deserved hope.
At a time when Americans send emails and express their voices to their representatives in phone calls, the responses are often brief, sterile, and asking for money. That has started changing with this latest group of representatives, though.
Representative Schiff treated Americans with dignity, respect, and even gratitude in an emailed letter to all the people who supported him, no matter how small the effort. The optimistic representative said:
‘First of all, thank you. Throughout this process, you’ve stood with me and helped me more than I can tell you. Whether it was with your emails, petitions, or kind words of encouragement, the feedback I’ve gotten has been so meaningful and galvanizing.’
Then, Schiff explained why he is “still optimistic:’
‘I know we’ll get through this — because in America, right still matters, truth still matters and decency still matters.’
He explained that the question he most-often received was “Was it worth it?”
‘The President tried to cheat in the next election by soliciting foreign interference. And more than solicit, Trump withheld hundreds of millions in military aid to an ally at war in order to coerce that country into doing his political dirty work.’
Schiff continued:
‘And when he got caught — when we exposed his scheme — he tried to cover it up and obstructed our investigation. As one law professor put it in the House, if that’s not impeachable, nothing is.’
People understood that the representatives were fulfilling their duty to the USA and to the people. This effort was an “uphill battle.” Yet, this was also the reason they had no choice:
‘[M]any Senators had made up their minds before they had even heard the evidence. But we also knew that the facts were on our side, that we had a constitutional duty to perform, and that the President’s conduct left us no choice.’
After the Democratic Representatives argued the voters’ case, the Senate voted against a fair trial:
‘After two weeks of arguments and questions from Senators, and many late nights, the Senate was left with a choice of whether to call witnesses and demand the documents the White House had withheld — essentially whether to hold a fair trial, or to participate in the President’s coverup.’
Based on the evidence, there was no doubt that this was a solid case for impeachment. Instead, Senate Majority Leader “Moscow Mitch” McConnell (R-KY) sided with Trump:
‘Mitch McConnell chose a coverup and gave Donald Trump what he wanted — the first impeachment trial in American history without live witnesses, and without review of essential documents. In doing the President’s bidding, McConnell and Senate Republicans shut down the impeachment prematurely and deprived the American people of the fair trial they deserved. They also kept critical information about the President’s wrongdoing from the American people.’
The chairman added:
‘But without a fair trial, the President couldn’t get everything he wanted.’
Trump’s defense would have shocked our country’s founders:
‘In the end, the President’s defense laid out an argument that would have left the Founders aghast. They argued that even the blatant abuse of power the President engaged in, extorting an ally for his own personal, political benefit, wasn’t an impeachable offense.’
The California representative added:
‘In so many words, they echoed the admonition from the President’s Chief of Staff that we should just “get over it.”’
Schiff knew that Americans could “see through this:”
‘For the first time in history, a majority of the American people favored the impeachment, conviction and removal of a sitting U.S. President. The American people know that what the President did was wrong, that he abused his power, and that he acted immorally.’
Then, Schiff explained that “one vote could help change the course of history:”
‘I said that if even a single Senator put country over party, if even a single Senator could be the David to take on Goliath, that one person could change the course of history. They would also demonstrate a form of courage that Robert Kennedy said was even more rare than courage in battle — moral courage. The courage to do the right thing.’
Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) “rose to that task” along with the three Democratic senators in extremely difficult states for them to win in the 2020 election:
‘I know that their courage will lead others to think about what they can do in these dangerous times for our democracy and our Constitution. It certainly inspired me. And it has made me optimistic about our future.
‘I believe courage can be contagious too. It must be. The Founders believed that men and women possess sufficient virtue to be self-governing and the courage that some of these Senators showed — though not a majority — was enough to bolster my confidence in the future.’
Schiff acknowledged that the country has been going “through this dark chapter in our nation’s history,” but we’re going to get through this:”
‘We’ve faced terrible trials and divisions before, and emerged even stronger. November is right around the corner, and that’s our next chance to change the course of our history for the better. And coming out of this process, I’m optimistic about our country’s future. You should be too.
‘And you matter. To me. Thank you again.’
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
