House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., questions Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire,as he testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The House is going to vote on impeachment tomorrow, and while it’s certain to pass, the ramifications of moving forward aren’t looking good for Democrats. The latest polling has pushed support underwater for impeachment and Trump has seen a resurgence in national polling against the 2020 field.

You know what that means. It’s time to bring out the same playbook that was used in the Brett Kavanaugh travesty by throwing up some last minute Hail Marys. Enter Adam Schiff to claim he has knowledge of a super-secret classified document that will change everything.

JUST IN: Schiff suggests that a supplemental letter provided by a Pence aide — which the VP's office won't declassify — "raises profound questions" about Pence's knowledge of Trump's effort to get Ukraine to launch investigation. pic.twitter.com/BJL1mu4IIv

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 17, 2019

I love the waffling here in the language. Schiff “suggests” is simply code for he’s making stuff up again and selectively leaking details in order to generate a narrative. The “raises profound questions” trope has been trotted out more times than I can count at this point. It’s a simple way to not actually have evidence of anything while turning on the scary music and whispering tales of nefarious collusion.

The attempt to drag Mike Pence into this, when even his own aide (who was clearly not partial to Donald Trump in her testimony) said there was no scheme, is a nice touch. It gives Democrats another excuse to proclaim more investigation is needed, because that’s all they’ve got at this point.

Here’s what’s really going on. Schiff knows that the letter is likely classified at the highest levels and contains communications that simply can’t be released. That allows him to then run to the press and mislead about its contents while having fully confidence they’ll run with whatever he says. Sure enough, that’s exactly what they are doing.

Schiff goes on to say that Mike Pence would be “obstructing” the House impeach inquiry if he doesn’t release the classified document (I’m not even sure Pence has the power to declassify on demand). It’s a basic con that the media have dutifully decided to play along with.

Mike Pence should tell Schiff to go pound sand. There’s no reason to play his games. If Schiff really thinks this letter is that important, he’s welcome to get Pelosi to call off tomorrow’s vote. He won’t because there’s nothing actually there.