When Republican lawmakers get a chance to ask questions at public impeachment hearings of President Trump, they’ll turn to an attorney, Steve Castor, who has already proven a sharp questioner of witnesses behind closed doors.
Castor, GOP staff attorney on the House Oversight Committee, on Wednesday will take the lead in the minority’s questioning of witnesses about events surrounding Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Daniel Goldman, who earned the nickname “Mob Buster” after prosecuting La Cosa Nostra in New York, will lead questioning for majority Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, led by Rep. Adam Schiff of California, which is conducting the hearing,
The pair of attorneys have over the past two months questioned witnesses on a range of issues from their knowledge about the Ukraine affair to whether Trump pressured his counterpart to dig up political dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden, a top-tier 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.
Castor, a member of the Federalist Society, has upset Democrats in closed-door depositions by attempting to mention and gather information from witnesses about the alleged Ukraine whistleblower, CIA analyst Eric Ciaramella. Castor on Wednesday and following days of hearings may seek details about Ciaramella, which is sure to be rejected by Schiff and committee Democrats.
A graduate of George Washington University’s law school, Castor began his legal career in Philadelphia as a commercial litigator until he went to Washington. He became a staff attorney for Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, starting in 2005.
Castor worked closely with then-Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, a California Republican, in investigating the Obama Justice Department’s botched gun trafficking program known as “Operation Fast and Furious.” He investigated the attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, and whether certain officials in the Obama administration’s Internal Revenue Service placed more scrutiny on particular political groups applying for nonprofit status.
He has been dubbed the “Hidden Hand,” the “GOP’s Get-Obama Lawyer,” the bane of the Obama White House, and the “Pit-Bull Prober.”
On the Democratic side, Schiff hired Goldman in late 2018 from his gig as a TV talking head and fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice.
Before becoming a legal analyst on NBC and MSNBC in 2017, Goldman was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York for 10 years and became known for prosecuting Russian mobsters, including Mikhail Zemlyansky in 2015 of racketeering, insurance fraud, and securities fraud.
Following his exit from the SDNY in 2017, Goldman became more outspoken about his anti-Trump political positions after joining NBC and writing for the Daily Beast. He covered topics including the special counsel’s Russia investigation as well as the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig, a former SDNY colleague, tweeted his praise for Goldman after hearing he would be questioning witnesses.
“Apparently [Goldman] will be doing the questioning for House Intel Dems this week. Dan and I tried a Genovese Family Boss and two hitmen on a case involving RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act], two murders, one attempted murder, and two murder conspiracies. (All guilty, now doing life),” Honig wrote. “He’ll do fine.”
