By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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The hashtag #AdamSchiffHasMyRespect was trending on Twitter after lead House impeachment manager Adam Schiff delivered a powerful closing speech urging senators to oust President Donald Trump from office Friday.
The California Democrat urged his colleagues in the Republican-controlled chamber to have the "moral courage" to go against their party and remove Trump, who he claimed will abuse his power again.
"He is who he is," Schiff said as Democrats closed out their case in Trump's impeachment trial on Friday. "You know it's not going to stop... It's not going to stop unless the Congress does something about it."
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Quoting former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in his bid to stir GOP lawmakers, Schiff added: "Few, he said, are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues and the wrath of their society. And then I understood by that measure just how rare moral courage is.
"One of the things that we in this fellowship of office holders understand that most people don't is that real political courage doesn't come from disagreeing with our opponents, but from disagreeing with our friends and with our own party because it means having to stare down accusations of disloyalty and betrayal."
Schiff closed his remarks by imploring Republican senators to permit new testimony before rendering a final verdict.
He reminded them of "how unforgiving history can be" before closing his speech with a plea: "I ask you, I implore you, give America a fair trial. Give America a fair trial. She's worth it."
Schiff's speech soon went viral on social media, with more than 20,000 posts on Twitter using the hashtag #AdamSchiffHasMyRespect.
Kimberly Johnson wrote: "Adam Schiff is fighting for the heart of this country. He speaks for me. He's decent and fair, and he's begging us to stand up for democracy."
Using the hashtag, Tony LaMantia called the remarks "a riveting, masterful narrative culminating in a plea to the Senate for moral courage over partisanship and fear."
Television writer Jose Molina added: "I've written a lot of lawyers in my day, and none of them spoke as eloquently and admirably as @RepAdamSchiff did in his summation today."
Rep. Steve Cohen added: "If you watched @RepAdamSchiff close you watched a marvelous presentation that should make you proud of your country & your Congress."
Schiff delivered Democrats' last remarks in Trump's impeachment trial after three days of arguments detailing charges that the president abused his power by asking Ukraine to investigate his political rival Joe Biden, then obstructed the investigation into the matter. Trump's lawyers will have their first chance to defend him against the charges on Saturday.
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