Four weeks after the House approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named a team of seven Democrats to lead the prosecution's case in a Senate impeachment trial, led by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
“The emphasis is on litigators. The emphasis is on comfort level in the courtroom,” Pelosi told reporters at the U.S. Capitol.
“The emphasis is making the strongest possible case to defend and protect the Constitution,” Pelosi added.
Ladies and gentlemen, your impeachment managers! From left: Jeffries, Garcia, Nadler, (Pelosi), Schiff, Demings, Lofgren, Crow pic.twitter.com/K76qWPCbMn
— Emma Dumain (@Emma_Dumain) January 15, 2020
Speaker Pelosi: "Today is the day that we name the managers, we go to the floor to pass the resolution to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate and later in the day ... we march those articles of impeachment to the United States Senate" https://t.co/xQgyFixIqs pic.twitter.com/wtS1bu6XnJ
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 15, 2020
Here is the list of the impeachment managers:
+ Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). Schiff led the impeachment hearings and is Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Speaker Pelosi said Schiff will serve as the lead manager.
+ Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY). Nadler is the head of the House Judiciary Committee.
+ Rep. Val Demings (D-FL). A former police chief in Orlando, Florida, Demings serves on both the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees.
+ Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO). A lawyer and Army Ranger who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, Crow won a GOP seat in the Denver suburbs in 2018. He was not involved in any of the impeachment hearings, and is the only impeachment manager who is not from a safe-Democratic seat.
+ Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). The head of the House Democratic Caucus, Jeffries is a member of the House Judiciary Committee.
+ Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). A veteran Democrat who was a staffer during the Nixon impeachment investigation, and also served during the Clinton impeachment.
+ Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX). Garcia is a freshman Democrat from the Houston area, and former judge. She is a member of the Judiciary Committee.
In a statement, the White House Press Secretary belittled the Speaker's announcement.
The ceremonial start to the trial will come on Thursday, as Chief Justice John Roberts will swear in Senators.
Opening arguments are expected to begin next Tuesday.