Schiff implores Senators to ‘stand up to lawlessness and tyranny’ as trial winds down
The President’s impeachment attorney Kenneth Starr invoked American history and pop culture as he made his closing remarks, which centered on the concept of freedom.
During his second round of remarks on the Senate floor during the impeachment trial, Starr recalled Irving Berlin’s World War I-era composition of God Bless America, noting that Berlin came to the United States as an immigrant at the age of five.
“He came to this country for freedom. As composers are wont to do, Berlin worked very carefully with the lyrics. The song needed to be pure. It needed to be above politics, above partisanship. He intended it to be a song for all America, but he intended for it to be more than just a song. It was to be a prayer for the country,” he said, tying the song to Senate Chaplain Barry Black’s reminder of “what our country is all about» during his daily prayer.
“The nation is about freedom,” Starr said, going on to invoke Dr. Martin Luther King’s iconic “I have a dream” speech and the Lincoln Memorial.
King spoke about freedom, Starr said, but also “freedom and justice.”
Starr said King often spoke about a 19th century Unitarian abolitionist, Theodore Parker, who said the “moral arc of the universe points toward justice.”
Starr encouraged the Senate to consider freedom, justice and fundamental fairness.
He then referenced the New England Patriots’ infamous Deflategate: “It’s why we don’t allow deflated footballs.”
And the Houston Astros’ 2017 season: “Or stealing signs from the field.”
“Rules are rules,” Starr said, encouraging senators to consider whether the rules were “faithfully followed” as they make their deliberations.
“If not, if that is your judgment, then with all due respect the prosecutors should not be rewarded. Just as federal prosecutors are not rewarded. You didn’t follow the rules. You should have,” he said, questioning whether the court has “proven trustworthy” and whether there has been “full and fair disclosure.”
