House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the seven House managers who will transmit the articles to the Senate for what she called “an impeachment that will last forever.” Pelosi named Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who previously claimed he had incriminating evidence of Trump’s collusion with Russia, as the lead manager.
The following six Democrats were also named as impeachment managers: Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas. Six of the seven managers publicly supported impeachment before the so-called whistleblower ever came forward.
“Today, I have the privilege of naming the Managers of the impeachment trial of the President,” Pelosi tweeted.
Today, I have the privilege of naming the Managers of the impeachment trial of the President. #DefendOurDemocracy pic.twitter.com/Y2613Ni3pC
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 15, 2020
The role of impeachment managers is similar to that of a prosecutor. They present the case for impeachment to the Senate during the trial to determine whether or not to remove the president from office. The problem with Pelosi’s picks is that they are such highly partisan figures, it is unlikely they will be able to persuade moderate Republican senators.
Particularly, Schiff who said only impeachment of President Trump could bring forth a fair and honest election in 2020. Schiff has consistently repeated the debunked theory that Trump and the Russians cheated their way into the White House in 2016, despite an investigation which found Trump was legitimately elected. Schiff also treated the now completely debunked and DNC-funded “Steele Dossier” as verified intelligence information for years.
“Why don’t you just let him cheat in one more election? Why not let him cheat just one more time? Why not let him have foreign help just one more time? The president’s misconduct goes to the heart of whether we can conduct a free and fair election in 2020,” Schiff said.
That is not the kind of argument that would win over moderate Republicans who could be swayed to vote in favor of impeachment. While Republicans are unlikely to break party lines in the upcoming Senate trial, with impeachment managers such as Schiff and Nadler, Democrats aren’t even giving themselves a chance.