Democrats' top lawyer during Trump's first impeachment is running for Congress in New York
- Daniel Goldman, House Democrats' top counsel for the first Trump impeachment, will run for Congress.
- Goldman announced his candidacy on MSNBC's Morning Joe.
The top lawyer for House Democrats during Donald Trump's first impeachment trial announced on Wednesday that he's running for Congress in New York.
Daniel Goldman, former lead counsel for House Democrats, will jump into the packed race for New York City's new 10th congressional district, which covers parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. His rivals for the open seat will include former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, and sitting Rep. Mondaire Jones.
News of Goldman's run was first reported by Axios. He appeared on MSNBC, where he serves as a legal analyst, to formally announce his candidacy.
Goldman told "Morning Joe" he felt compelled to run due to the "threats that are really existential in terms of our democracy — threats to right to vote, threats against right to choose, our climate and public safety "
"I want to get on the front lines and back in the trenches like I did during the impeachment to fight for our democracy, defend our democracy, but also bring a new voice so that we can move some of these issues forward that the Republicans in particular are really trying to roll back," Goldman said.
Goldman rose to prominence in 2019 as a leading face of the House Democrats' first attempt to impeach then- President Trump, on charges that he pressured Ukraine's leaders to investigate the family of his political rival, Joe Biden, by threatening to withhold military aid.
During the impeachment proceedings, Goldman led questioning of the Democrat's primary witnesses in an unusual arrangement that put a staff lawyer in the spotlight, alongside members of Congress.
It wasn't his first high-profile gig. Goldman previously worked in the office of the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, under Preet Bharara.
"He was one of the go-to trial guys, and there's no case that's too complex for him," Bharara told the Washington Post in 2019. "He's a great prosecutor and he's got a very powerful presence."