White House lawyer in Trump trial is both defender and key witness to events

FILE PHOTO: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) arrive for the beginning of the impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 16, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - While arguing President Donald Trump's case at this week's Senate trial, White House counsel Pat Cipollone also is defending his own role in a legal strategy that helped lead to Trump's impeachment on a charge of obstructing Congress.

Democratic lawmakers at the impeachment trial said on Tuesday that Cipollone "played an instrumental role" in that obstruction and argued that his representation of Trump threatens to undermine the integrity of the proceedings.