January 15, 2020
By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday unveiled their team to lead the prosecution of President Donald Trump at his trial in the Senate, headed by a former prosecutor who has become a nemesis of the Republican leader.
Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, 59, will lead the seven House “managers” who will put the case to senators that Trump should be ousted for pressuring Ukraine to investigate political opponent Joe Biden and obstructing Congress.
Schiff spearheaded the House impeachment investigation into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine late last year and is a frequent target of Trump attacks. The president called Schiff, a former federal prosecutor, “a deranged human being” at a NATO meeting in Britain in December.
Jerrold Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, 72, was also named to the Democrats’ team.
After weeks of delay, the House is expected on Wednesday afternoon to send impeachment charges against Trump to the Senate, clearing the way for the trial to start in earnest next week.
The weeks-long trial is expected to ultimately end in the president’s acquittal. But it will focus attention on Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden, as the 2020 presidential campaign begins in earnest.
Biden is one of 12 candidates vying for the Democratic nomination, and the trial might still be under way when Iowa and New Hampshire hold their first nominating contests in early February.
None of the Senate’s 53 Republicans have voiced support for ousting Trump, a step that would require a two-thirds majority in the 100-member chamber.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Andy Sullivan)
