Mitt Romney Says He ‘Agonized’ over Impeachment: ‘I Hoped Beyond Hope’ I Wouldn’t Find Him Guilty

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who voted to convict President Trump for abuse of power last week, claimed on Sunday that he “agonized” over the responsibility that came with his decision and said he had “hoped beyond hope” he would not find President Trump guilty.

Speaking to KSL’s Sunday Edition during the weekend, Romney, who asserted last week that the president “committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor,” said he “agonized over the responsibility that ultimately would come [his] way” and proclaimed that he “hoped beyond hope” he would not find Trump guilty.

“Well, I took my responsibility exactly as the Constitution defines it and as the oath I took requires it,” Romney told KSL’s Doug Wright, again citing his oath before God, “which is what I was sworn before God to apply impartial justice as a Senate juror.”

The Utah senator continued to defend his decision, proclaiming that he “thoroughly studied” the evidence, which moved him to vote to convict the president.

Kamala Harris Gives the Surest Sign Yet She’s Running in 2028 with Al Sharpton Event Speech

LATE BREAKING: Trump Issues Shockingly Graphic Post Targeting Haitian Illegal Accused of Murdering Mother of 2

Bessent, Powell summon Wall Street CEOs for emergency meeting over Anthropic AI risks amid Pentagon dispute

Trump’s Labor Department takes another hit as inspector general accused of abusing role

FLASHBACK: Dems want to boot Trump with 25th amendment, but refused to do so under Biden

WATCH: America250 backdrop topples near Shapiro, Revolutionary War reenactors

Navy scraps Biden-era submarine contract as overhaul costs surge toward $3B

Unfortunate Video: Mamdani Thought Walking Through NYC Was a Great Photo Op, Then People Noticed What Was Behind Him

Report: Roger Stone Stepped in and ‘Saved’ Tulsi Gabbard from Being Fired by Trump

Nation’s second-largest school district targeted by Trump over secretive trans policy

Video: Hunter Biden Hits New Rock Bottom, Agrees to Insane Cage Match Against Don Jr., Eric Trump

BREAKING IMPEACHMENT NEWS: Hearings on Tim Walz, Keith Ellison Impeachment to Begin Next Week

Artemis II crew closes in on Earth as mission ends with Pacific splashdown and more top headlines

Midwest nasty: ‘Hoosier nice’ gets swamped in Trump White House’s redistricting revenge tour against Indiana Republicans

Sanford bets he can withstand likely Trump campaign jabs

“I agonized over the responsibility that ultimately would come my way,” Romney said. “I hoped beyond hope that I would not have to find him guilty of what had been alleged.”

“They didn’t want to provide any information for those of us who were having a responsibility to provide impartial justice,” Romney said of the refusal to allow additional witnesses to testify.

He also attributed his decision to “family tradition,” citing his dad, whom he described as “a person who stood by his word and did exactly what he thought was right regardless of the consequence.”

“And that is a family tradition which I hold dear,” he said.

“I did believe that I was doing exactly what I swore I would do,” he added.

Romney’s decision to convict the president earned him high praise from high-profile Democrats, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who praised her colleague’s “courage” during Friday’s Democrat debate in New Hampshire.

“There was a lot of courage you saw from very few people,” Klobuchar said. “There was courage from Doug Jones, our friends from Alabama that took that tough vote. There was courage from Mitt Romney, who took a very, very difficult vote”:

Amy Klobuchar knocks idea of being a "cool newcomer": "We have a newcomer in the White House, and look where it got us. I think having some experience is a good thing." https://t.co/Rhy9aOaDTU #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/cqusxWYJfl

— ABC News (@ABC) February 8, 2020