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February 05, 2020 11:56 AM UTC

BREAKING: Sen. Mitt Romney Will Vote To Convict Trump

  • 23 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

The Salt Lake Tribune reports on a monumental development moments ago in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump: Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah will vote to convict and remove Trump from office.

“I swore an oath before God to apply impartial justice. And, as you know, I’m a very religious person. I take that very seriously,” Romney, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told The Salt Lake Tribune ahead of his vote. “And so I looked at the evidence in a very unbiased manner and concluded that that the president had done as was alleged — that he did ask a foreign government to interfere in the election, that he did pressure that government by withholding aid.

“That’s as egregious an assault on the Constitution of our country,” he added, “as I can imagine that a president might make.”

Romney said he will vote to acquit the president on the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress, because he doesn’t believe the House took all the steps it needed to test the president’s assertion of executive privilege covering witness testimony and documents sought in the inquiry.

Sen. Romney’s vote to convict Trump on the first and most substantial of the impeachment articles assures that the vote to convict will be bipartisan–and we do believe the first presidential impeachment trial conviction vote to attract bipartisan support in American history. While it’s still almost certain that the 67 votes needed to remove Trump from office will not emerge today, Romney’s powerful condemnation of Trump’s conduct throws the defenses of Trump by fellow Republicans ranging from total denial to equivocal admission of a problem into harsh relief.

Sen. Cory Gardner, allegedly due to speak at some point before the final vote, now has a lot less cover to help Trump cover this thing up. Stay tuned for updates — the drama isn’t over yet.

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23 thoughts on “BREAKING: Sen. Mitt Romney Will Vote To Convict Trump”

  1. Will be interesting and amusing to read the “spin” on this, if Romney follows through, from Powerful Pear and Moderatus/Podesta e-mails/stained blue dress.

    1. The message from Mittens, Collins, Jones, Murkowski, Alexander, et al is:

      “Let the people decide in November. . . .

      . . .  Let’s just be sure they don’t have any of the evidence or testimony they could use on which to make a properly informed decision.”

      Fuck ‘em all and fuck et al, too!

  2. This is the most I’ve ever liked Mitt Romney, which admittedly, isn’t that much. Time for the obligatory ” Mitt Romney begged me for a job ” tweet…

  3. Mittens has his Mr. Smith Goes to Washington moment…..

    Who would have expected that a man at whom I routinely laugh for being a spineless would grow a pair and do something like this!

    1. Someone had to temper Trump’s self-coronation celebration, and Romney probably realized no one else is left in the Republican Senate that would have the independence and self-respect needed to stand up to Trump.

    2. Everyone has their lines. I'm not sure that I would have ever called Romney spineless. He is rather politically expedient. I am fairly sure he would not make this vote if he were from, say, Arizona or Michigan. He's pretty safe from being forced out over this in the primary.

      I also think this is true of most people. We have a range of things we'd find acceptable to vote for or against depending on circumstances. What I am surprised by is the retiring Republicans sticking with Trump. If a Senator's next gig is sitting on a corporate board how does voting against Trump hurt them?

      1. I agree. Mitts vote is surprising, but not as much of a head scratcher as Lamar Alexander. He acknowledged what Trump did was wrong, but refused any evidence. His Republican colleagues stated there was not enough evidence and Alexander voted against allowing the house managers to present more. He served 18 years in the Senate. You would think he would have done more to protect the institution.

        1. Alexander also said that removing Trump would pour gasoline on the culture war fire that is smoldering in this country.

          So apparently Alexander feared that removing Trump would incite the deplorables and irredeemables to pick up their torches and pitchforks, and take to the streets.

      2. Romney did something that has hurt him immeasurably politically as well as costing him many friends and contacts. Don't downplay how gigantic this was for him.

        I give him credit for realizing that this is more important than his individual political future.

        1. In 4 years, when Romney is considering whether to run for another term or not, he'll be able to say "when my party is wrong, I will tell them so"  — and people will believe him. 

          As more and more indications of Trump's guilt on the Ukraine caper emerge (Lev is coming… and John Bolton's book will be published and he may well testify to the House … additional documents and emails will come out in FOIA cases … and I'm betting there will be some Ukrainian documents or testimony emerging), Romney will look better and better.

        2. He's not running for re-election for 4 years. He will be doing so in a red state known for its high levels of NeverTrumpism, where a NeverTrump candidate received 21.5% of the vote and Trump didn't hit a majority. He's well-known and beloved in chosen state. It's a thing, but not likely the ultimate political sacrifice.

    4. Ah, but Romney is smart enough to be modest and ask forgiveness, so he won't be there.

      Other Republicans?  I think they will only be in the 8th circle — you can look it up.  "The Eight Circle of Hell is resided by the fraudulent."

      1. I caught a bit of Moscow Mitch's post-acquittal press conference, and he basically poo-pooed the idea of expelling R-money from the GOP caucus and praised his consistent pro-GOP voting record.

  5. To Moderatus: 

    Romney said that he did this because of his faith and upholding an oath.

    And you would consign him to hell for that?  I realize you a Republican sycophant, but this degree?  MGHMOYS.

  6. Mitt Romney thought long and hard about this, unlike most of his colleagues:

    What is it about the circumstances of our politics now — the pressures that both parties put on their members to fall in line — that meant Mr. Romney would be the only one?

    Republican politics in Washington in the time of Donald Trump is a vise grip. Loyalty has never been a more important virtue in the party than it is now. The Republican Party has shrunk a lot, by weeding out the Trump-ambivalents. A lot of the Republicans who broke with Donald Trump in 2016 are no longer Republicans.

    Mr. Romney is a Mormon. On the Senate floor today he said that as a juror in the trial, he had sworn an oath “before God” to act impartially. He cited a Mormon hymn in explaining his decision on Fox News.

    The example of his father, George Romney, who was very active in the Mormon Church and who was the moderate Republican governor of Michigan, was very powerful to him. George was also a lonely dissident voice in the Republican Party during the Vietnam War. He paid a big price for it. To this day, Mitt says he reveres his father for that.

    Mitt used to say when he was running for president that when he went up to the debate lectern, he would write the word “dad” to remind himself of the example his dad set. He said to me this morning that George Romney was an example he looked to regularly in the process of making this impeachment decision.

    He told you he thought there would be “unimaginable” consequences to his vote. What do you think he meant?

    He is as lonely a voice inside the G.O.P. as there is right now in the Senate. It takes different forms, like being heckled in grocery stores, which happened to him in Florida over the weekend. God knows what people say about you on social media. There are calls for his expulsion, led by Donald Trump Jr. He said he was prepared for it. He said he was willing to do this for the privilege of voting his conscience.

    Trump's corruption is matched only by McConnell's desecration of his oath to our nation.  There would be no need for iron discipline to hold their members in line if their leader weren't such a pitifully unfit example of a man, much less one entrusted with the power of life and death.

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