‘I enter this task with an open mind…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) After initially suggesting he would vote in favor of additional witness testimony during the Senate’s impeachment trial, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said he would wait to make a decision until mid-trial.
Romney said earlier this month that he’d “like to hear” from former national security adviser John Bolton, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made it clear that the impeachment trial will be “swift.”
And after Republican support for Romney dropped significantly last week, he decided to be more cautious and explain his thought process.
“Deciding whether or not a sitting president should be removed from office is perhaps the most solemn matter that can ever come before the United States Senate. I enter this task with an open mind and a recognition of my solemn responsibility to fulfill my oath,” Romney said in a statement to constituents, according to The Hill.
The allegations against Trump are “extremely serious,” he said, and they “demand that the Senate put political biases aside, and make good faith efforts to listen to arguments from both sides and thoroughly review facts and evidence.”
But, Romney said he would “oppose” any attempt to force a vote on witnesses “prior to opening arguments.”
Each side must first make its case, and if there is still any information lacking, the Senate should vote on whether to call on additional witnesses, he said.
Romney added that he disapproves of the Democrats’ impeachment efforts, calling the process “difficult,” “divisive,” and something that “further inflames partisan entrenchment.”
“There is inevitable political pressure from all sides. I have spent — and will continue to spend — many hours in careful deliberation about what this process and its potential outcomes could mean for our country. The best we in the Senate can do is strive to meet the obligations outlined by our founding fathers,” he said.