US president Donald Trump has been discharged and acquitted
by the US senate over the charges of obstruction of congress and abuse of power
leveled against him by the House of Reps.
On Wednesday, the Republican majority senate voted against
impeaching the president, bringing the impeachment trial to an end.
'48 senators have pronounced Donald John Trump, president of
the United States, guilty as charged. 52 senators have announced him not guilty
as charged. 2/3 of the senators present not finding him guilty, the Senate
judges Donald John Trump - the president of the United States - is not guilty
as charged in the first article of impeachment,' Chief Justice Roberts
announced after the vote.
But in a remarkable move, Republican Mitt Romney, a non-fan
of Trump, who has been critical of the president in the past, voted against the
president in the charge of 'abuse of power'
He was the only Republican to do so in a move that stunned
Capitol Hill.
'The grave question the Constitution tasks senators to
answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that
it rises to the level of a "high crime and misdemeanor,' Romney said ahead
of the vote. 'Yes, he did.'
He voted to acquit on the obstruction of Congress
charge.
Romney, a deeply-religious Mormon, said his faith as the
reason behind his decision.
‘The allegations made in the articles of impeachment are
very serious. As a senator juror, I swore an oath before god to exercise
impartial justice. I am profoundly religious. My faith is at the heart of who I
am. I take an oath before god as enormously consequential.
I knew from the
outset that being tasked with judging the president, the leader of my own party
would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced,’ he said in his remarks
on the Senate floor.
Romney said he was convinced President Trump abused his
power as because it involved Joe and Hunter Biden, Trump’s political rivals.
‘There's no question in my mind that were there names not
Biden the president would never have done what he did,’ Romney said.
Romney acknowledged in a pre-taped interview with Fox News'
Chris Wallace that aired just immediately after he voted against the president,
that he could lose his next election campaign for not supporting Trump and that
his life in Washington D.C. was about to get 'lonely.'
‘It's going to get very lonely. The consequences are
significant. They are enough that it made it very difficult process for me.
There's not been a morning since this process began that I slept beyond 4:00
a.m.,’ he said.
‘Well, a friend of mine once said that the worst thing that
ever happened to them politically had already happened. The worst thing that
already happened me politically was losing the presidency in 2012. I have broad
enough shoulders to be able to weather personal changes in my career, political
or otherwise. What I don't have is the capacity to ignore my conscience,’ he
added.
Wallace pointed out to him: 'You realize this is war. Donald
Trump will never forgive you for this.'
‘I know in my heart that I'm doing what's right,' Romney
responded. 'I understand there's going to be enormous consequence. I don't have
a choice in that regard. That's why I haven't been anxious to be in the
position I'm in. When I heard there was going to be an impeachment
investigation, as I heard the evidence coming forward, I dreaded the
responsibility I have. But I was not willing to abdicate the responsibility
given to me by the constitution, nor to ignore my conscience out of personal and
political significance considerations. I had to follow my conscience.'
‘This is the most difficult decision I've ever made in my
life. There's been nothing that compares to this,’ he added.
The impeachment process initiated by House speaker Nancy
Pelosi started on the 24th of September after a whistle blower complaint
alleged that Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in exchange for launching
investigations into his political rival, Joe Biden.
