Schiff the face of House's case against Trump
WASHINGTON — 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.
Graham said he believes the California Democrat is “well spoken” and “did a good job of creating a tapestry, taking bits and pieces of evidence and emails and giving a rhetorical flourish ... sometimes effectively, sometimes a little over the top.”
Though Schiff has six managers by his side, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Schiff, her confidante, as the lead impeachment manager. He is setting the tone of the prosecution’s case. “In a way I do feel like I’m introducing myself to a number of the senators,” Schiff said in an interview with The Associated Press before arguments resumed on Thursday. He said many of them are familiar only with conservative criticism of him. Schiff said he wishes that the Graham exchange wasn’t caught on camera, “because it was nice to have a private moment. And I don’t want to discourage that kind of thing. But I very much appreciated his comments.”
While complimenting Schiff, Graham also predicted that the White House team will unravel many of his points.
“I thought they did a good job of taking bits and pieces of the evidence and creating a quilt out of it,” Graham said. “So what I will tell my colleagues, the other side gets to talk, and see if they can pull a thread here and pull thread there and see if it holds up.”
Schiff, a former federal prosecutor who represents parts of Hollywood, has been a frequent target of conservatives since the then GOP-led House Intelligence Committee started investigating Trump’s ties to Russia in the 2016 election. He was frequently on television questioning Trump’s actions.
The criticism reached a full-on roar as he took charge of the impeachment investigation of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.
Trump has trained his ire on the congressman on Twitter and elsewhere, alternatively calling him “shifty,” “sleazy,” and “liddle.”
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.”
“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 said.
