Sen. Romney Took the High Road, Voted Trump Guilty of Abuse of Power

Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) took the high road by being the lone Republican to vote “guilty” on the abuse of power impeachment charge against Donald Trump. It was a decision that Senator Romney knew would earn the ire of Donald Trump and all the Republican supporters behind the latter.

The Utah senator was aware of the consequences of his decision but nonetheless stood pat on his ground, because for him, it was more important to carry out his duty of defending and preserving the Constitution. Although many Republicans now brand him as a traitor, the senator’s action will be remembered well in history; as opposed to the shameless Trumpian senators who chose to ignore all evidence and testimonies, even at the start of the senate impeachment trial.

In an interview with The Washington Post before delivering his “guilty” vote, Senator Romney said there is no question the U.S. president asked a foreign leader to investigate his political adversary for a political purpose. It was clear that Trump put pressure behind the request in order to get the Ukraine President to cooperate in the Biden investigation. As a prelude to his impeachment trial speech, Sen. Romney made it clear that he will vote to convict because in his own view,

”There is not much I can think of as a more egregious assault on the Constitution than trying to corrupt an election just to maintain power, which is what president Trump did.”

Why Sen. Romney Voted to Acquit Trump on Obstruction Charge

Even before the final voting on whether to acquit or convict Trump, the senator of Utah already expressed views that threw support for the calling of more evidence and witnesses. Sen. Romney had wanted to hear what Bolton had to say because

“I was hoping beyond hope that Trump’s defense team would present exculpatory evidence, to remove me from the responsibility of voting what my conscience was telling me”…”That is one of the reasons that I wanted to hear from Bolton, as I had hoped his testimony would raise reasonable doubt.”

Senator Romney though, acknowledged the fact that Trump barred the White House key administration officials with firsthand knowledge from further releasing documents or giving testimony to the House Managers led by Representative Adam Schiff. Despite the acknowledgment, the Utah senator decided to acquit Trump of the obstruction charge. Senator Romney said he believes that the House committees who handled the impeachment proceedings should have taken the time to bring the matter to court.

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