Trial of a Lifetime

But Schoen, 63, ended up capturing the attention of millions of viewers for entirely different reasons. For one, he asked Democrats running the impeachment trial if he could take Shabbos off. A regular request, one that happens thousands of times each year across corporate America, but not when a tightly scheduled Senate is preparing for what is supposed to be a once-in-a-generation impeachment.

Then, observers noticed how Schoen covered his head with his hand every time he took a sip of water. Do hands double as yarmulkes? A knee-jerk reaction from a regular kippah wearer? And what was he mumbling beforehand?

Schoen, who lives with his wife and five children in Atlanta, is here to answer.

In one week you taught America about Shabbos and about wearing a yarmulke.

On Sunday I actually still had it on when I went into the trial because I had forgotten to take it off. It seems that senators felt it was awkward-looking or distracting, so I decided that it’s better not to be controversial. I also take it off in front of juries.