WATCH: Trump lawyer Philbin argues impeachment inquiry wasn’t designed to ‘search for truth’

Trump's first impeachment - 2020 Deputy White House counsel Patrick Philbin said the House of Representatives "didn't follow the law" in pursuing its impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump's actions. Philbin said, at the beginning of the inquiry, a number of "totally invalid" subpoenas were issued. From there, he argued, the "House violated every principle of due process and fundamental fairness in the way the hearings were conducted." Philbin continued: "Denying the president the ability to be present through counsel, to cross-examine witnesses and to present evidence fundamentally skewed the proceedings in the House of Representatives." Philbin said the House's inquiry wasn't "truly designed for a search for truth." House managers and the president’s legal team are each delivering their closing arguments in the impeachment trial on Feb. 3 before senators began to weigh in with debate on whether to remove Trump from office. In December, the House of Representatives charged him with two articles of impeachment -- abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. After the Senate on Friday voted to bar new witness testimony and subpoenas for documents, Trump’s acquittal has seemed all but assured. Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6 Follow us: Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/newshour Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour Snapchat: @pbsnews Subscribe: PBS NewsHour podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts Newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe