Impeachment hearing dynamics
One thing the private meetings did was help Schiff understand the republican arguments. They also gave an overall view of what happened.
They must have scheduled the public hearings to best tell the overall story.
Owning the first 45 minutes of the public hearings lets Schiff get the witnesses to tell their story completely and anticipate what the republican strategy will be.
At the same time, they are handling surprises very well. Exposing trump’s intimidation tweet in real time turned it from a distraction to a devastating piece of evidence. Deposing Holmes on friday was fast. Holmes had to travel a day from Ukraine.
The 45 minute session exposes the banality of the republican argument. For one thing it pits Schiff against Nunes. Schiff is obviously smart and speaks well. Nunes loses arguments with imaginary cows.
The lawyers are also unequally matched, Goldman seems relatable while Castor has a locked in who farted sneer.
No wonder they were so frantic to mix up the batting order Friday morning. Shut down hard.
Schiff and Castor get to let the witnesses tell their story. Stories are compelling. Everyone likes a story and it makes the case clear and believable.
45 minutes later the republicans get their turn, but there is nothing to fill 45 minutes. They get to examine the few remaining crumbs, but the feast is over. Most of them can fill 5 minutes with thunder. Get a few of them in a formation and they can keep it going indefinitely.
Keep it to two and it is boring and obvious they have nothing.
= new reply since forum marked as read
His issue is that, also rumored, is that he's actually an ethical lawyer and given the facts of this case - he doesn't have much to work with. And he knows it. So he's left with little beyond the fart sneer. ( I just wanted to type that - it's such a great description).
When the facts are on your side, argue the facts. When the facts aren't on your side, argue the process. Unfortunately for republicans, the time to argue process is behind them and all their left with is arguing facts.
This is what a defense lawyer looks like in court when he's lost all of the arguments pre-trial...he's left standing in front of the jury grasping for straws, hoping that some witness will f'ck up and give him an opportunity.
Not gonna happen with these witnesses.
I don't feel bad for him. He took his job, and given that he's not bombastic enough for the Trumpster, I wonder how long he'll keep it.
