As the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump stretches into another evening Wednesday, a collection of officials and lawyers remains gathered on and near the central rostrum of the Senate chamber.
Overseeing it all from the highest chair in the room is John Roberts. As chief justice, Roberts presides over the trial – his constitutional duty – in a role that is highly public but unlikely to see him cast any votes. He has recited procedural rules, kept the clock and read aloud vote tallies.
He scolded both the Democratic House managers and the President’s defense team early Wednesday morning after a contentious exchange on the Senate floor.
To Roberts’ right is Jeffrey Minear, his counselor at the Supreme Court, who is also sitting nearby during the Senate trial.
Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger plays an enforcer role during the proceedings. He’s the one who uttered some of the first words of the trial, an imposing warning – proceeded by three “hear ye’s!” – that “all persons are commanded to keep silent, on pain of imprisonment.”
Two crescent-shaped tables house the opposing legal teams: the Democratic House managers, who are arguing in favor of Trump’s removal from office, and Trump’s own legal team, who are arguing in his defense.
The managers include Rep. Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, who has gained both acclaim and scorn as one of the primary public faces of Trump’s impeachment. Others include Rep. Jerry Nadler, who angered Republicans by accusing them on the Senate floor of a “cover-up,” and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the only member of the House and Senate involved in the three impeachment investigations of the modern era.
Opposite them are the President’s lawyers: Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel; Jay Sekulow, Jane Raskin and Jordan Sekulow (Jay’s son), the President’s personal attorneys; Pam Bondi, the onetime Florida attorney general who is now a White House impeachment adviser; and Eric Ueland, the White House legislative affairs director.
There are other members of the President’s legal team – like former special prosecutor Ken Starr and law professor Alan Dershowitz – who are expected to speak from the Senate floor but aren’t sitting in the chamber during arguments.
