Democrats escalate tit-for-tat over witnesses, accuse White House counsel of undermining ‘integrity’ of impeachment trial

The Democratic lawmakers leading the case against President Donald Trump accused White House counsel Pat Cipollone of being a “fact witness” to Trump’s wrongdoing and demanded on Tuesday that he disclose what he knows to the Chief Justice.

In a letter to Cipollone, the House managers argue that Cipollone has “detailed knowledge of the facts” regarding Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, that he “played an instrumental role” implementing Trump’s directive to block witnesses and testimony, and that he therefore must disclose what he knows so that the “Senate and Chief Justice can be apprised of any potential ethical issues, conflicts, or biases.”

Democrats have essentially no power on their own to force Cipollone to do anything. If they believe he has critical firsthand information, they could push for a vote on whether to depose him or call him for public testimony, but that would require Republican support.

Still, the move was the latest in an escalating tit-for-tat between House Democrats and the White House. Trump has been saying for months that Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who is leading the House managers and oversaw the inquiry in the House Intelligence Committee, illegally coordinated with the Ukraine whistleblower and should be required to testify at the trial.

The Democrats’ letter said Cipollone’s situation “threatens to undermine the integrity of the pending trial,” ramping up their criticism of the Republican-led process that they’ve labeled a “cover-up.”

Rep. Jerry Nadler, one of the Democratic managers and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday that Cipollone should recuse himself from the Senate proceedings.

The fight over witnesses, on both sides, has been simmering for weeks.

The President’s trial brief, which was submitted to the Senate on Monday and co-written by Cipollone, also accused Schiff of being an “interested fact witness” because of the whistleblower, and the hearings he oversaw were therefore “fatally defective.” Those hearings with key witnesses uncovered strong evidence linking Trump to the Ukraine pressure campaign.

It’s not true that Schiff broke the law, and Trump has exaggerated Schiff’s connections to the whistleblower, who spoke to members of Schiff’s committee staff before filing the complaint. That complaint raised the alarm about Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where he asked for an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden.

CNN has previously reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell preferred a swift trial without any witnesses from either side, as opposed to the drawn-out process that Trump was calling for, where his defense attorneys could try to subpoena a parade of witnesses, including Schiff and potentially Biden. A majority vote is required to approve any new witness subpoenas.

The White House and Senate Republicans plan to defend Cipollone’s role, officials involved in the discussions told CNN.

“House Democrats are trying to run one of the President’s strongest advocates off the case before it even starts,” White House legislative director Eric Ueland said. “They won’t succeed.”

Since Trump became president, the lawyers around him have been drawn into his scandals.

Former White House Counsel Don McGahn was a top witness the Russia investigation and provided special counsel Robert Mueller with significant evidence that Trump obstructed justice. Mueller declined to offer recommendation on whether Trump should be charged with obstruction, and Justice Department guidelines say a sitting President cannot be indicted.

Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen implicated Trump in campaign finance crimes, for his role in hush-money payments sent to two women who alleged affairs with Trump. Cohen is now serving a three-year prison term for these and other crimes. Trump denies the affairs.

And Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani played a leading role in the effort to pressure Ukraine into announcing the Biden investigations — the conduct that led directly to Trump’s impeachment. Federal prosecutors are investigating Giuliani’s relationship with two Soviet-born businessmen who helped him with the Ukraine scheme, and now face campaign finance charges of their own.