Watch Adam Schiff’s Terrific Impeachment Speech: “Here, Right Matters”

The Senate impeachment trial is a farce due to Republican fear and intransigence, and the only benefit will be deeper public hits to their reputation, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be some impressive moments. Thursday night, while you were probably sleeping, Adam Schiff delivered a strong speech to close out the second day of arguments. The theme was “here, right matters”—a quote borrowed from the House testimony of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman—and Schiff painted a compelling picture of how and why Trump will always care more about himself than his country. Watch it here:

Donald Trump must be convicted and removed from office.

Because he will always choose his own personal interest over our national interest.

Because in America, right matters. Truth matters.

If not, no Constitution can protect us.

If not, we are lost. pic.twitter.com/USfx6v9KsT

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) January 24, 2020

As the AP reported, Schiff’s performance has been good enough that Lindsey Graham even felt obligated to compliment him:

In the otherwise scripted impeachment trial, it was a rare spontaneous moment: Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump’s chief defenders, stopped Rep. Adam Schiff, the lead prosecutor, to shake his hand and compliment him on his arguments for Trump’s removal.

Though Graham has ridiculed the case against the Republican president and heaped scorn on Democrats like Schiff, he said he believes the California Democrat is “well spoken” and “did a good job of creating a tapestry…

And those weren’t the only grudging Republican accolades:

Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt said the Democrats had “admirable presentations,” even though he found them repetitive and said he didn’t learn much new.

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst says she’s “not a fan” because she believes Schiff “has it out” for Trump. Still, she says, he has been presenting a “calm, level case” against the president.

“What I appreciate, though, is the fact that he has handled this in a very calm manner compared to some of the other House managers,” Ernst says.

Strange things can happen when a trial like this gets going, but it’s a near certainty that Trump will not be removed from office. Still, Schiff seems to understand that the greatest value of the trial will be presenting a strong case to the public and forcing Republicans to blatantly oppose fairness and the truth when they let the president off the hook. In that respect, he’s backing them into a corner and letting the public see their total disregard for justice.