Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who as a key member of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack positioned himself as one of the leading anti-Trump voices on the Left, has continued to narrate the legal repercussions of that historic event, often drawn to comment on the prosecutorial fallout for Trump and his loyalists extending beyond the findings of the committee.
With four Trump indictments handed up since the committee’s work ended — including the sweeping 19-defendant RICO conspiracy case in Fulton County, Georgia — Schiff has had plenty of opportunity for commentary.
[NOTE: A lightning rod in the storm of partisanship in Washington, Schiff also drew MAGA’s ire — and was censured by the GOP-led House — for his Trump antagonist role as Chair of the House Intelligence Committee that investigated the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia.]
Justice Robert Jackson once wrote that “The Constitution is not a suicide pact.”
— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) September 7, 2023
If Mark Meadows’ attempts to overturn the 2020 election are somehow within the job description of a federal chief of staff, then it becomes exactly that. pic.twitter.com/P1aEixoKot
Above Schiff — a Harvard-trained lawyer — addresses the testimony of former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who wants his trial on conspiracy charges in Georgia removed to federal court. Schiff says he wasn’t surprised by much of what Meadows said in court, but he is surprised that Meadows took the stand at all, characterizing the unusual move as a “Hail Mary” — notably an act by someone in a desperate situation.
Surprised that Meadows “felt the need to take that gamble, that big gamble by taking the stand,” Schiff says, “I think it’s an indication both of the fact that he feels he needs some kind of Hail Mary to escape a potential conviction, but also if he were successful in moving the case to federal court he has the potential to knock it out completely by arguing immunity.” The latter is the touchdown Meadows seeks.
Schiff assesses what he heard in the Meadows testimony grimly. “I think it’s a very weak case for removal, but also for immunity,” Schiff says.
Meadows is currently waiting on U.S. District Judge Steve Jones‘s decision over whether he can remove his case to federal court, which will tell whether Schiff’s assessment is right. Sometimes, as Doug Flutie can tell you, Hail Marys end up in the end zone.
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