Impeachment manager Adam Schiff made his case for impeaching the president Wednesday by suggesting that the 2020 election will be rigged.
Schiff, a Democrat from California who also serves as the House Intelligence Chairman, stated on the Senate floor during the second day of the impeachment trial that President Donald Trump must be impeached because there is no guarantee that “the [2020] vote will be fairly won.”
“The president’s misconduct cannot be decided at the ballot box, for we cannot be assured that the vote will be fairly won,” Schiff said during his opening statement. (RELATED: Rand Paul Says Adam Schiff Is Unifying Republicans When He Talks During Impeachment Process)
WATCH:
“The President’s misconduct cannot be decided at the ballot box, for we cannot be assured that the vote will be fairly won,” lead impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff says during his opening statement at the Senate impeachment trial. https://t.co/14mXcvjVzh pic.twitter.com/F2OZhLYx7v
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) January 22, 2020
Schiff loosely backed up his concern by claiming that Trump had attempted to “cheat” in the election by asking Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to look into alleged corruption between the Biden family and Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Democrats allege that the president dangled foreign aid in exchange for the investigation, constituting an abuse of power.
“In corruptly using his office to gain a political advantage … the president has shown that he believes he is above the law,” Schiff explained.
Schiff accused Trump of similarly not respecting election results in an October 2016 tweet, writing, “It’s hard to believe the nominee of a major party won’t commit to accepting the election result. Unfit for any office.”
It’s hard to believe the nominee of a major party won’t commit to accepting the election result. Unfit for any office. #Debate
— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) October 20, 2016