Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who played a major role in the impeachment proceedings, is leaving his perch on the House Intelligence Committee, a move that underscores how House Democrats are shifting away from high-profile investigations into President Donald Trump in the run-up to the November elections.
Goldman, who previously worked as a top prosecutor at the US attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York, was hired last year at the beginning of the new Congress as a director of investigations on the House Intelligence Committee. And after the House opened an impeachment inquiry last fall, Goldman took the lead in the House in questioning witnesses both in public hearings and behind closed doors.
Goldman is the third high-profile House Democratic adviser to leave Capitol Hill since the end of Trump’s impeachment trial when he was acquitted by the Senate earlier this month. The other two, Barry Berke and Norm Eisen, served as top advisers on the House Judiciary Committee before they left Capitol Hill earlier this month.
Goldman, who is returning to New York, began to share news of his departure on Wednesday with his colleagues. Asked for comment, Goldman said it was “an honor of a lifetime” to work under Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, and the committee to “help provide a vital check on the President, as the Constitution requires Congress to do.”
Goldman added: “I’m indebted to my colleagues for working tirelessly in pursuit of that objective. While I am eager to return to New York to spend some much-needed time with my family, I know that the committee’s work will continue apace under Chairman Schiff’s leadership.”
Schiff praised Goldman’s tenure at the committee.
“Over the past year, Dan Goldman has provided strategic guidance, wise counsel and steady leadership to our Committee through a turbulent, but critical time,” Schiff said in a statement. “We know that the team Dan helped us build from scratch will continue their important work, and while we will all miss him in the committee, we know that his family is excited to get him back.”
The next investigative steps for the House Intelligence Committee remain unclear. While Democrats have not ruled out issuing a subpoena to hear testimony from former national security adviser John Bolton, for instance, Democratic leaders have been mum about whether they plan to go that route.