Two Texan Members Of Congress On Different Sides Of The Impeachment Trial

Freshman Democratic Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia is one of seven House impeachment managers. Republican John Ratcliffe is part of President Trump’s defense team.

By Jill AmentJanuary 23, 2020 2:31 pm

Democratic House impeachment managers began to present their case this week in the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Texas  Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia is one of those managers. But there are also Republicans involved, mainly in President Trump’s defense. Texas Congressman John Ratcliffe is on that team.

Todd Gillman is Washington bureau chief for The Dallas Morning News, and he says some of the tension between the two sides came from disagreement over how to divide up time for the proceedings. There was also disagreement about whether Democrats could call witnesses or subpoena documents.

In her opening argument, Garcia, a freshman member of Congress, discussed the actions of Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. She tried to show that he was an integral part of the Ukraine scandal that’s central to Trump’s impeachment.

“This goes to the heart of the Democrats’ case,” Gillman says – that Giuliani’s actions were part of a “personal errand” for the president, and not in the interest of national security.

As for Ratcliffe, Gillman says he most likely won’t speak on the Senate floor. His role is to “supplement” the lawyers on Trump’s defense team.

“Ratcliffe is one of the few congressmen in either party who is a member of both the [House] Intelligence Committee, which did the impeachment inquiry, and the Judiciary Committee, which approved the articles of impeachment,” Gillman says. “He’s kind of a walking, talking encyclopedia of facts.”

 

Written by Caroline Covington.