At some point in the distant future, there will be a political biographical writer that possesses the skill set of looking at this particularly odd time in American politics and recount it without making conclusions through a partisan lens. And when he or she does write that book, there will be one figure that emerges as supremely villainous, a player in that national drama who was caught repeatedly lying about having evidence leading to Donald Trump’s guilt, such overwhelming evidence that impeachment would have to follow.

Of course, then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff had no evidence. He was gaslighting the country then in order to gin up an impeachment inquiry, and then ultimately succeeding in a mostly-partisan two-count impeachment that went nowhere in the United States Senate. Since then, he’s continued to lie about the entire affair, and his culpability in keeping the lie alive.

Schiff was on MSNBC over the weekend to comment on growing sentiment amongst House Republicans that there really was collusion involving the Ukrainians, and that collusion actually involved Joe and Hunter Biden, and might need an impeachment inquiry in order to get to the bottom of the corruption at the highest levels of government. Here’s what Schiff said, without any self-awareness of the irony dripping from his lips.

Actions by the House Republicans are ‘an impeachment inquiry in search of a subject and certainly in search of evidence.’ You’ve got to give Schiff credit where credit’s due. If you’re going to go down in history as the leading liar in the United States Congress for at least the last five generations, at least have the consistency to commit to the bit.

There of course was no evidence or subject to warrant the impeachment inquiry he oversaw as chairman of House Intel. He quite literally did then exactly what he is accusing the Republicans today of doing, apparently without understanding the irony involved. My guess is he does understand the irony, but is too cynical, shameless, and partisan to care.

Here’s just a sample of the dozens and dozens of times he promised evidence of Trump’s wrongdoing, smoking guns if you will, that were just around the corner warranting impeachment.

The evidence never came. Not a stitch of it. Not a scintilla. He is essentially the Professor Harold Hill of Congressmen. This version of the Music Man promised the band, instruments, uniforms, the whole nine yards showing that Trump was a crook, knowing full well that the evidence didn’t exist, that it was all just a partisan exercise to weaken a political opponent in front of the 2020 election. He was, and is, a liar and a fraud.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee under James Comer isn’t just promising evidence of wrongdoing by Joe Biden. They’re bringing receipts in the form of bank records and shell corporations set up in Biden family names so that tens of millions of dollars move from Ukraine and other foreign countries ultimately into Biden, Inc. hands, with 10% for the Big Guy, in return for Biden intervention on issues favorable to foreign nationals. The FBI logged credible witnesses outlining the Biden bribery scheme. IRS whistleblowers have detailed the lengths to which both the DOJ and FBI have gone to cover up the crime. There is already more than sufficient evidence to warrant an impeachment inquiry. Whether or not it is prudent to go down that road is open to debate.

For Schiff to lie so brazenly, so wantonly for so long, and to act now as though he’s speaking from some platform of expertise or morality on the subject of when or when not to launch an impeachment inquiry is just grand. You would think that alienating half the country would be corrosive to one’s political career, wouldn’t you?

Not in California, where Republicans have left in numbers large enough to deepen the shades of red in states like Utah, Idaho, Texas, Tennessee, Florida, and Oklahoma. The partisan gap between Democrats and Republicans in California continues to widen, and therefore, Schiff is sitting in the catbird seat not for a repudiation for lying, but being promoted to the Senate in the 2024 election.

Early polling thus far shows a three-way race in a jungle open primary, with the top two being Schiff and Orange County Congresswoman Katie “Batgirl” Porter. Personally, being a long-time resident of the Golden State and not even recognizing the name of any Republican on the ballot, if my choice is between Porter and Schiff, the two probable candidates in a general election to replace Dianne Feinstein, my choice might be to write-in Taylor Swift, because she at least in 9 days of concerts at SoFi Stadium will do more for economic recovery in this state than either of these two clowns combined in two decades of public service between them.

My point is we continue to increase the dangers to the overall health of the republic when people in elected power can be so demonstrably proven to be liars and yet still be politically viable because they have a D after their name in a blue state, or an R after their name in a red state. We should be able to do better as an electorate than to throw whatever flawed character into a cage match we think would be the most entertaining to watch because of their ability to fight dirty.