Caroline Brehman/Zuma
In his closing statement at the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on Monday, top Democratic impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) issued a rousing final plea for the Republicans who comprise the majority of the Senate to vote to convict the president.
“History will not be kind to Donald Trump,” Schiff said. “If you find that the House has proved its case, and still vote to acquit, your name will be tied to his with a cord of steel and for all of history. But if you find the courage to stand up to him, to speak the awful truth to his rank falsehood, your place will be among the Davids who took on Goliath—if only you will say, ‘Enough.'”
Schiff then called on the Senate to uphold the conviction of James Madison and the other Founding Fathers that humans are virtuous enough to justify our confidence in self-government and to defeat despotism.
“They gave us the tools to do the job, a remedy as powerful as the evil it was meant to constrain: impeachment,” he said. “They meant it to be used rarely, but they put it in the Constitution for a reason: for a man who would sell out his country for a political power, for a man who would threaten the integrity of our elections, for a man who would invite foreign interference in our affairs, for a man who would undermine our national security and that of our allies, for a man like Donald J. Trump.”
“They gave you a remedy, and they meant for you to use it,” he concluded. “They gave you an oath, and they meant for you to observe it. We have proven Donald Trump guilty. Now do impartial justice and convict him.”
Watch the video below:
.@RepAdamSchiff, to Republicans: “History will not be kind to Donald Trump. If you find that the House has proved its case, and still vote to acquit, your name will be tied to his with a cord of steel and for all of history.” pic.twitter.com/YW4HvBvAWj
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) February 3, 2020
