U.S. Democrat impeachment lawyer tests positive for coronavirus

[March 16, 2020]  (Reuters) - Daniel Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who led the questioning of witnesses in the House Intelligence Committee's impeachment proceedings against U.S. President Donald Trump, said Sunday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Goldman, who worked under committee chairman Adam Schiff, said on Twitter that he was almost fully recovered after dealing with flu-like symptoms but that he was exasperated with the obstacles he faced in getting tested despite showing symptoms and testing negative for the flu.

The lack of readily available testing for the coronavirus "underscores how shockingly unprepared this administration is to deal with this pandemic," wrote Goldman, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York.

Goldman said New York City hospitals had declined to test his wife, even though she was showing similar symptoms, unless she was admitted to the hospital.

Schiff, a Democrat from California, issued a statement on Sunday that a former staff member had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus

Schiff did not name Goldman, but noted that the staffer in question was no longer working for the committee.

"Medical professionals believe that my former staff member likely contracted the virus after leaving the office, but we will still be taking additional precautions over the next few days," Schiff said in the statement.

Democratic staff counsel Daniel Goldman is sworn in to testify during a House Judiciary Committee hearing to receive counsel presentations of evidence on the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 9, 2019. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo

Schiff said no current staff had reported any flu-like symptoms.

With limited testing available, officials as of Sunday have recorded over 3,200 cases and 62 deaths in the United States.

Trump was impeached in the House in December for his request that Ukraine carry out investigations into Joe Biden, a Democratic candidate for president, and his son Hunter. But the Senate, controlled by his fellow Republicans, acquitted him on Feb. 5.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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