Watch Adam Schiff's passionate case for why Trump must be removed from office

House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff ended Thursday’s arguments in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial with a fiery speech detailing why it’s necessary that Trump be removed from office.

Schiff made the speech after the Democratic impeachment managers spent the day laying out the evidence that Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in order to force the country to investigate his political rivals. And he explained why those actions deserve to get Trump booted from the White House.

“This is why he needs to be removed: Donald Trump chose Rudy Giuliani over his own intelligence,” Schiff said, referencing Trump’s personal lawyer, who helped lead the effort to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. “He chose Rudy Giuliani over his own FBI director. He chose Rudy Giuliani over his own national security advisers. When all of them were telling him this Ukraine 2016 stuff is kooky crazy Russian propaganda, he chose not to believe them. He chose to believe Rudy Giuliani. That makes him dangerous.”

For the most part, Senate Republicans have not disputed the facts Democrats have laid out about Trump’s actions.

Instead, those Senate Republicans have said they do not believe Trump’s actions were impeachable.

However, Schiff tried to appeal directly to those Republicans in his Thursday night speech.

“Let’s say [the Russians] start interfering in our election again to help Donald Trump. Can you have the least bit of confidence that Donald Trump will stand up to them and protect our national interest over his own personal interest?” Schiff said. “You know you can’t. Which makes him dangerous to this country.”

Schiff continued, “Can any of us really have the confidence that Donald Trump will put his personal interests ahead of the national interests? Is there really any evidence in this presidency that should give us the ironclad confidence that he would do so? You know you can’t count on him to do that. That’s the sad truth.”

Schiff and the six other Democratic impeachment managers have one more day to make their case for Trump’s removal.

On Saturday, Trump’s lawyers will get their chance to defend Trump from the impeachment charges he faces.

And Trump’s lawyers have a leg up as they kick off their defense, as numerous Republicans have said they don’t plan to convict Trump no matter what.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.