Selected Remarks of Rep. Adam Schiff before the United States Senate, 1.23.20

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the lead House impeachment manager, laid out the Democrats’ abuse of power case against President Donald Trump during the second day of oral arguments in the Senate impeachment trial.

Schiff starts by mentioning the president’s tweet urging people to “read the transcript” on the July call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which has been a focus of the impeachment inquiry. Schiff then reads portions of the call notes released by the White House, highlighting important takeaways for senators.

Schiff said Trump violated the Constitution, and one of the reasons why he ought to be removed? “Trump chose Rudy Giuliani over his intelligence agencies,” he said. “That makes him dangerous.” The White House will give its defense after the House managers have been allowed 24 hours over the course of three days to present their case. The House of Representatives impeached the president in December on two articles — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The trial will determine whether Trump is convicted of those charges and removed from office, or acquitted.