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.

State Department Has Revoked Over 175K Visas to Date for Criminals and Others During Trump’s 2nd Term

Graphic: UK Cop Tries to Arrest Man Who Bought Baseball Bat and Carried It Out of Store, Crowd Comes to Man’s Defense Instead of Cop’s

‘Common sense against crazy’: Trump-backed candidate sounds alarm on socialist Hong in Wisconsin race

Child vaccine schedule reduced as Trump moves to dramatically shift medical power to parents

Georgia jogger runs for her life after stranger allegedly tries to mow her down 3 times

Repeat offender illegal immigrant accused of plowing pickup into Nashville crowd – now ICE wants him

FAA says flights will be paused at DCA during Freedom 250 Grand Prix

Indiana recount commission finds Trump-backed challenger victorious

36-Year-Old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Attempts to Control Time by Freezing Her Eggs

Potential Contamination from Mexico Triggers Salsa Recall from Walmart, Target, Kroger

Fauci discussed COVID mRNA vaccine concerns for pregnant women in text chain released by Senate committee

Board of Peace undeterred by Israel’s rejection of peace plan at this stage

Trump announces aide will soon step into White House counsel post

FBI investigated then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions one day after Comey’s firing, declassified documents show

Op-Ed: Make Families Self-Sufficient Again

“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