Briefs filed by House Democrats offer preview of Trump impeachment trial
Chad Pergram reports from Capitol Hill.
The Senate impeachment trial for former President Trump is set to begin Tuesday after the House of Representatives last month voted to impeach him for the second time—this time after being accused of inciting insurrection during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announcing the House impeachment managers who will prosecute the case against Trump, called it their "constitutional and patriotic duty."
"They will do so guided by their great love of country, determination to protect our democracy and loyalty to our oath to the Constitution," Pelosi said. "Our Managers will honor their duty to defend democracy For The People with great solemnity, prayerfulness and urgency."
Lead Impeachment Manager Rep. Jamie Raskin and impeachment managers Rep. David Cicilline and Rep. Ted Lieu drafted the article of impeachment, "Incitement to Insurrection."
Here are the House Democrats who will present the case for Trump’s impeachment:
Rep. Jamie Raskin, Lead Manager:
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., is the lead impeachment manager, and co-drafted the article of impeachment. Raskin is a member of the House Oversight Committee, the House Rules Committee, and the House Judiciary Committee.
Prior to being elected to public office, Raskin was a professor of constitutional law at American University’s Washington College of Law for more than 25 years.
Raskin penned a letter to Trump’s legal team this week urging him to testify before, or as part of, his Senate trial. Trump’s legal team denied, saying they would not take part in an "unconstitutional" process.
Raskin was in the running to serve as a House impeachment manager for Trump’s first Senate impeachment trial in 2020.
Rep. David Cicilline:
Cicilline, D-R.I., who is serving his sixth term in Congress, co-drafted the article of impeachment. Cicilline is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Prior to being elected to public office, Cicilline served as a public defender in Washington D.C.
Cicilline was in contention to prosecute the case against Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2020.
After the Capitol riot last month, Cicilline said Congress was "obligated" to impeach Trump.
"We cannot allow that kind of attack on our democracy, an attempted coup d'état to occur without consequence," Cicilline said on Fox News.
Rep. Ted Lieu:
Lieu, D-Calif., co-drafted the article of impeachment. Lieu serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Lieu is a former active-duty officer in the U.S. Air Force and served as a prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Lieu currently serves as a Colonel in the Reserves, and is serving his fourth term in Congress.
Lieu, upon introducing the article of impeachment, said Congress "simply had no other choice but to impeach."
Rep. Diana DeGette:
DeGette, D-Colo., is serving her thirteenth term in office. She serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Before being elected to public office, DeGette was an attorney focused on civil rights.
After Pelosi appointed her an impeachment manager, DeGette said she "can think of no greater responsibility than that of defending our Constitution by holding President Trump fully accountable for inciting an insurrection against our government."
Rep. Joaquin Castro:
Castro, D-Texas, serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Castro is serving his fifth term in Congress. Prior to his election to Congress, Castro served in the Texas Legislature and served as a litigator in private practice.
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 25: Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) speaks during a news conference in February. (Getty)
"If inciting a deadly insurrection is not enough to get a president impeached, then what is?" Castro said on the House floor last month. "All of us must answer that question today."
Rep. Eric Swalwell:
Swalwell, D-Calif., serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and on the House Judiciary committee. Swalwell is a former prosecutor and is serving his fifth term in Congress.
Upon being appointed a House manager, Swalwell said that "America is under an attack incited by President Donald Trump."
"Lives have been lost and future plans are in place to stop a transition of power," Swalwell said. "A president's greatest responsibility is to protect American lives and defend American ideals. Donald Trump has failed to do both."
Swalwell was also in contention to serve as an impeachment manager during Trump’s first Senate impeachment trial in 2020.
Rep. Stacey Plaskett:
Plaskett serves on the House Ways and Means Committee. Before she was elected to Congress, she served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and as Senior Counsel at the Department of Justice. She is serving her fourth term in Congress.
Plaskett is a delegate of the Virgin Islands. She is limited as a member of Congress because she represents a U.S. territory, rather than a state. One of those limitations includes that she cannot cast votes on the House floor—meaning Plaskett was unable to vote to impeach Trump.
Stacey Plaskett was elected as the U.S. Virgin Islands delegate to Congress in 2014. (AP file)
Upon being named a House manager, Plaskett said she was "humbled and honored to be given the sacred responsibility."
"I have sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic," she said. "Donald J. Trump has been and continues to be a clear and present danger to our republic, to our constitution, and to the people of this nation. I will do my duty and defend our blessed country."
Rep. Madeleine Dean:
Dean, D-Penn., is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and is serving her second term in Congress. Prior to being elected to the House of Representatives, Dean served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for four terms and was a lawyer in private practice.
"The president and many in this chamber have shamelessly peddled dangerous untruths about this election — despite the warnings of where these lies would lead," Dean said on the House floor before voting to impeach Trump last month. "Those lies and dangers found themselves inside this Capitol. This hateful rhetoric is another virus — it is time to remove its host."
Rep. Joe Neguse:
Neguse, D-Colo., is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the Natural Resources Committee and the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Neguse, early in his career, was a litigator in private practice. He is serving his second term in Congress.
Neguse was an early supporter of impeaching Trump, and supported efforts to impeach him since 2018 when he was elected to Congress.
"President Trump’s actions – encouraging, inciting a mob that stormed the United States Capitol, for the sole purpose of stopping the constitutionally-mandated counting of electoral votes – cannot go unanswered by this body," Neguse said last month. "He must be impeached."
He went on to say: "If Congress does not act, if we shrink from our constitutional responsibilities to defend our republic, it will undoubtedly undermine the vision of America, as ‘the last, best hope of earth’ as Abraham Lincoln so eloquently said, so many years ago."
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