1:09 p.m. ET, January 10, 2020
Trump "probably" wants some House Republicans on his defense team, GOP lawmaker says
From CNN's Alex Rogers
GOP Rep. Mike Johnson told CNN he talked to President Trump last night and that the President “probably” wants some House Republicans to join White House counsel Pat Cipollone on the defense team during the Senate impeachment trial.
Johnson's comments come in the wake of
CNN's latest reporting that an internal debate is raging over whether to add House members to Trump's defense team.
“I think he wants to put the best team possible at his table,” Johnson said. “In his view, that probably would include some House members, but we’ll see how it turns up.”
The Louisiana Republican said it’d be a “great idea” for Trump to pick some House Republicans to help Cipollone.
“I think it's a great idea because there's a few of us that know the record better than anyone,” Johnson said. “We've been engaged in this battle since the beginning — and if asked, if allowed the opportunity, we would like to finish it."
Johnson said he didn’t know but guessed that the decisions regarding the defense team will be made over the weekend.
He said he had a “good conversation” with Trump last night.
“He's very encouraged about the prospect of getting the trial begun and handled and he's very confident in his case — and he should be,” said Johnson.
Johnson, a member of the Judiciary committee and chairman of the Republican Study committee, said he would “love” to join the defense team if the president asked.
“There have been lots of discussions about that. It's no secret,” Johnson said. “And we've offered ourselves for that and it'd be a great honor to me if I was given that opportunity. I was a litigator in federal court for 20 years before I came to Congress, so, I'd love to be a part of it.”