House declares Trump's impeachment lawyer Pat Cipollone a 'material fact witness' in trial
The House has a new demand before President Trump's impeachment proceedings get under way.
The House has deemed White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, one of Trump's top impeachment defenders, a "material witness" to the charges against Trump, a letter to Cipollone sent Tuesday reads. Cipollone now faces a possible "disqualification" from defending Trump, and must "disclose" any evidence he has as the trial begins, the House's impeachment managers continued.
The first impeachment article against Trump alleges he pressured Ukraine to get investigations opened into the Bidens and the 2016 election, and the second says he obstructed Congress' attempt to investigate that campaign. "Evidence indicates that" Cipollone has "detailed knowledge of the facts regarding the first article and played an instrumental role in the conduct charged in the second," the letter from the House reads. "Ethical rules" would therefore "generally preclude" Cipollone from being a lawyer in this case, given that he's also a "necessary witness," the impeachment managers continue.
"At a minimum, [Cipollone] must disclose all facts and information" he has "firsthand knowledge" of that may come into play during the Senate's impeachment trial into Trump, the letter concludes. Whether Cipollone actually does that is doubtful. Find the whole letter here.
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