Female impeachment managers say American public know a ‘rigged’ trial when they see one

The trio of congresswomen serving among the House managers during the Senate impeachment trial said Thursday that Americans will view it as “rigged” if President Trump is acquitted without witnesses or new evidence being presented.

“It seems to me, if there’s not a full, fair trial with witnesses, he may get an acquittal, but he’s not going to get an exoneration,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) told NBC News. “It’s going to be seen for what it is, just a rubber stamp to get him off the hook.”

Lofgren was joined in the interview by Reps. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) and Val Demings (D-Fla.); all three talked about the need for the impeachment trial to include witnesses, a matter that hasn’t been decided yet.

“That’s yet unknown, whether we’ll have a full trial, but clearly, he engaged in serious misconduct that upended the constitutional order, really threatens our freedom,” Lofgren added.

Garcia said that Republicans seeking to help Trump can’t hide their intentions from voters.

“Because everyday Americans know what a fair trial is. And that includes witnesses, it includes testimony, it includes both sides having a fair shot at presenting their case. And if they don’t see that, then they’ll say, ‘Well, yeah, he got off, but it’s because it was rigged,'” Garcia said.

The Texas congresswoman also noted that regardless of the result, Trump can’t “erase” that he was only the third president in the history of the U.S. to be impeached.

On Thursday Democratic lawmakers pressed their case before the Senate that Trump abused the power of his office in his relations with Ukraine. The president’s defense team is set to begins its rebuttal later this week.

Also serving as House impeachment managers are Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff (Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) and Jason Crow (Colo.).