Rep. Adam Schiff has really gotten my attention. Nathan and I have written that Schiff has been reliably forthright during the Impeachment hearings. He’s been a stand-up guy, speaking the truth quickly and plainly.  And yet this morning, somehow, Schiff’s bald statements of fact left me feeling sympathetic to Ambassador Gordon Sondland.  That’s a pretty decent achievement, given that Sondland is, by all accounts, a lying, self-serving, boot-licking scumbag minion to the corrupt despot, President Donald Trump.

I’m watching the Wednesday Impeachment hearing.  House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff is in the middle of his opening remarks.  And my god, he’s not cutting any corners.  I’ve already seen about twenty minutes of Schiff listing every crime Sondland committed, every dirty deal, and every lie we know about so far.  Schiff has been specific because he has a lot of sworn testimony and reliable evidence to work with.  The results are unambiguous and, to be polite for a second, unflattering.  Sondland has been in the middle of President Donald Trump’s off-the-books Ukrainian drug deal.

And there’s the good Ambassador, sitting at the witness table.  Sondland has to listen to Schiff shred every part of his public life, point by point, detail by damning detail, while the two sit there in split-screen on national television.  What must that feel like?

Sondland looked defiant at first.  It seemed appropriate, given that Schiff had started his opening remarks with general accusations. But Schiff just kept going.  He went from high-level accusations down to each known detail that encompassed what we know so far about Trump’s extortion of our ally, Ukraine.

Schiff went from front to back, covering the whole string of Sondland’s questionable choices. It took a long time.  Schiff didn’t dwell on any one point, but he didn’t have to.  The scandal is just that long, and Sondland’s role was central to almost every step.  Sondland’s expression dropped after the first few minutes.  And dropped more.  Eventually, he did everything but cover his face in shame.

I found Sondland transfixing.  What did it feel like to be excoriated so thoroughly and so publicly?  We know he’s about to use half-lies, obfuscation, and dog-whistles to try to rescue as much of his reputation as he can.  He’s not a good guy by any measure.  There’s also the squirmy fact that Sondland withheld far too much in his original sworn testimony.  He updated that testimony when it became apparent he’d been caught.  And his updated sworn testimony was still half fabrications and hedging, exposed as lies and half-truths within minutes.

I mean, it’s not as if we expect Sondland to tell us the full truth.  He’s had two prior opportunities to save himself.  Instead, Sondland always gives us a calculated, carefully gauged package of new truth, careful half-truths, claims of medical amnesia, and outright denials. His only miscalculation has been how quickly other testimony would expose his deceptions.

Now he’s in front of a public hearing watched by millions of people on TV.  He actually looks like he hasn’t sweated through his shorts, which amazes me.  I’d be a puddle in that uncomfortable chair.  He has a long haul ahead of him.  Every crime, lie, disablement, and offense that Schiff listed are documented and undeniable.  I can’t see what Sondland has to work with beyond “Sorry, my memory isn’t perfect.”

So, Schiff actually left me feeling sorry for the contemptable Ambassador.  That’s a pretty good trick.  Schiff just got to the end of his remarks, thank God. Now it’s Ranking Member Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Flopsweat) turn to bloviate.  Long ago, Nunes decided that calling people names and denigrating every event would be his go-to version of leadership.  It’s been his answer in every speech so far. This time, Nunes ginned up a new variation, so we got to plan another round of “Name that wing-nut conspiracy!” It’s astounding what transparent nonsense that man will hang his hopes on.

Ambassador Sondland just started his opening remarks.  He’s still a scumbag, but he’s doing a remarkably good job creating the illusion of innocence.  This is a guy who enthusiastically embraced every dirty trick and shakedown Trump gave him.  I think it’s the “I was just following orders” defense. Maybe it’ll work. And I’m back to sneering at the lying bastard.  But I still remember feeling that moment of sympathy for his Sisyphean task.