Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Sunday that Republicans are “afraid” of what witnesses will say if brought before the Senate at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” the lead impeachment manager said Trump’s legal team, which opened its defense case on Saturday. does not “contest the president’s scheme.”
“They just try to make the case that you don’t need fair trial here. You can make this go away,” he said, adding: “If they’re successful in depriving the nation of a fair trial, there is no exoneration… the country did not get what the Founders intended.”
He insisted allowing witnesses is essential to a fair trial of the president.
“They’re definitely afraid of what witnesses will say,” Schiff said. “People understand what a fair trial is. A fair trial consists of witnesses.”
He added Trump’s legal team “has a right to call relevant witnesses just as we do.”
”He doesn't have the right to call irrelevant witnesses,” Schiff said, adding, however, he’s not afraid to have Hunter Biden testify, as Republicans have called for.
"It's not a question of what I'm afraid of. I'm not afraid of anything,” he said. “It's a question of: Should the trial be used as a vehicle to smear his opponent ... or is it to get to the truth?"
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