Foregone Conclusion Reached
The foregone impeachment conclusion finally came about today as the Senate Acquits Trump on Both Impeachment Articles.
On the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, all 47 Democrats and one Republican voted to convict the president, falling short of the 67 needed to remove the president from office.
On the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress, the vote also failed, with all Democrats and no Republicans finding the president guilty.
One Surprise Vote
There was never any realistic hope of conviction given that it takes 67 senators to agree.
But there was one surprise.
“The president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust,” said Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican, on the Senate floor before the vote.
The action by Mr. Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, made him the first senator in U.S. history to vote to convict a president of his own party. In the impeachment trials of Democratic presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, no Democratic senators voted to convict.
The White House, which as late as Wednesday morning had been predicting that all Republican senators would vote to acquit the president, was caught off-guard by Mr. Romney’s announcement, aides said. The White House abruptly closed to the media a planned event at which Mr. Trump had been expected to make remarks.
Full transcript of Romney’s Senate Impeachment Trial Remarks
Here is an excerpt from the Full Transcript of Sen. Mitt Romney’s Senate Impeachment Trial Remarks
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 a profoundly religious person. 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. I was not wrong.
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.”
Yes, he did.
Full Video
Romney a Traitor?
TownHall comments Nice Work, Traitor: Mitt Romney’s Vote to Impeach Trump Will Only Hurt Senate Republicans and Help Schumer
I strongly disagree.
I am tired of partisan politics an blind faith allegiance to the person in charge.
I salute Mitt Romney, not for his stance, but for having the courage and conviction to act on his beliefs.
Supposedly Romney is a “traitor” for having the courage and conviction to do what he honestly believes is correct.
The real traitors are those who in the name of partisan politics do otherwise.
I salute Romney
Whether I, or anyone else agrees with his vote is irrelevant.
He had the courage to act.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
“I salute Mitt Romney, not for his stance, but for having the courage and conviction to act on his beliefs.”
Romney would deserve a salute for having courage and conviction but it doesn’t look like that is the case.
I have voted in 13 presidential elections, and I have never seen a democrat that was preferable to a repub. But sometimes the repub is almost as bad and then I have to go third party. I did not vote for Mittens, and as for his “conscience”, I’m surprised Mish can’t see that is BS.
It’s great And courageous when people stand up for what’s right, no matter the consequences. But this may be more of a case of spite then courage.
“But this may be more of a case of spite then courage.” Gee, ya think? Duh.
It was directed to the author, not you. Duh. Atleast you had the sense to go 3rd party that (mit) year. Hopefully you did for the same the McCain year too.
Look at your lousy community Mish… stop slumming at ZeroHedge and maybe you’ll get less scum in your comments
In Private, Republicans Admit They Acquitted Trump Out of Fear
…
In private, many of my colleagues agree that the president is reckless and unfit. They admit his lies. And they acknowledge what he did was wrong. They know this president has done things Richard Nixon never did. And they know that more damning evidence is likely to come out.
The only traitors to our country are the ones that acted out of fear of Trump. Essentially this is how the mafia operates. And we have the head of the mafia as President. We know what happens to all mob bosses in the end.
Unfortunately for you Observer, there does not seem to be a cure for Trump Derangement Syndrome. The sufferers are immune to truth & facts.
Trump and his supporters are deranged. Mind you I voted for the guy in 2016. Because I posted an opinion doesnt mean I believe 100% of it. Continue to live in your bubble.
Agree with Mish
You certainly have to know the Dems didn’t go after the President because he “went after a political rival”, and Romney knows as well. Trump was after the corruption over a year before Biden announced. Never mind that Biden was never a viable candidate, which we just saw proven on Tues night. Romney is an establishment hack, period!
Romney is just trying to fight back to retain his dead version of the GOP, as he watches Trump diminish same. Any new GOP will likely be “Trumped”.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see more articles of impeachment this year. If none of the Democrats have a shot at beating Trump electorally, then their only hope is to impeach him again and/or flip the senate. Bolton’s book is due out in March and he is already going to get subpoenaed. The truth is it doesn’t matter what either party does. They are destined to keep fighting. I don’t know who the next Democratic President is but I can guarantee that if the House has a Republican majority, they will draft articles of impeachment at some point.
I agree and can only shake my head. I wish the Democrats had not impeached him with the election so close and put forward a candidate that can win electorally. I’m surprised at how difficult that seems to be. I think Trump’s base will accept an election loss if it is viewed as fair, but chaos might result if he was thrown out of office in what looks like a coup of the elites from both parties. Can’t the Democrats flip traditionally blue states like Wisconsin and Michigan in 2020?
Not likely imo because things are better economically in Wisconsin and Michigan then they were 4 years ago. Trump is sitting at 259 votes electorally right now and only needs 11 more to win. That could come from a variety of combinations. The ads you saw during the Super Bowl are the ones that will be repeatedly aired in swing states from now until election day. Trump has built a proverbial wall and may well lose the popular vote again and win the presidency.
Wow, I’m in California and thought those states voting Republican for the first time since the 80s, much less for Trump, was an aberration. If you’re right, I find that both stunning and disturbing. It doesn’t help that the Democrats wasted over 3 years screaming about Trump and not focusing on why traditionally blue states actually voted for him. Being the party of globalization doesn’t work everywhere.
Both parties were the parties of globalization. Trump basically pointed out what Ross Perot said would happen in the 1992 election. The Republican party is taking back what’s left of the middle class in the midwest because of Trump. Trump isn’t going to sacrifice his own chances by going deeper on the trade war. So you get some agreement with China and others and the effect on everyone is a net positive. I’ve basically lived in all major regions of the country and can see things from each region’s perspective. The Democrats took the lagging midwest for granted since Reagan left office. The Democrats are in the BIG trouble for 2020 if the economy holds up.
Interesting, thank you.
The detestable Romney made his money putting Americans out of work via leveraged buyouts, saddling victim companies with toxic debt and filling his and his Bain Capital colleagues pockets with large fees from the dead man walking companies. What a pathetic putz.
Sounds like what Trump did with his hotels and casinos and declaring bankruptcy.
And Trump University – don’t forget Trump University. Romney is a capitalist. Trump is a parasite.
They’re both just living off of welfare provided by the Fed. Like the rest of their ilk.
“Supposedly Romney is a ‘traitor’ for having the courage and conviction to do what he honestly believes is correct.”
That assumes he honestly believes what he did was correct and he wasn’t simply lashing out because he loathes Trump. He may have good reason to loath Trump, but I’m not inclined to assume a private equity guy that obviously has contempt for at least 47% of Americans ever acts out of principle. Sechel is probably correct that representing Utah provides cover for this vote, which suggests it was not purely based on his convictions but rather a calculated political stunt.
Romney is a petty loser. He could not win the presidency, spoke out against Trump, then begs for a cabinet position when he wins. The motivation for this is plain and simple.
“I’m not inclined to assume a private equity guy that obviously has contempt for at least 47% of Americans ever acts out of principle.”
Trump has contempt for way more than 47% of Americans. Romney actually has less contempt.
The party elite on both sides have contempt for nearly all of us. I don’t like Trump or Romney and didn’t vote for either of them. That said, unlike Hillary and Romney at least Trump wasn’t dumb enough to express his contempt for an enormous segment of the electorate so clearly during an election campaign.
Well stated. Trump’s experience in playing to the audience for decades on TV has been critical to his perceptions. It also helped that neither party really spoke to the disaffected voters in various parts the country. The Democrats are in a quandary for 2020 simply because enough voters are better off then they were 4 years ago in states like Wisconsin, Ohio, Michgan and other states where Trump vowed to improve people’s lot in life.
Did Romney vote his conscience? Or his hurt feelings?
Only he knows, but more likely the latter.
I haven’t been in Utah for a couple years, but I don’t think most people I’ve meet there will be that happy with Mitt.
As for Schiff making his case, we will find out if he was right now when Trump sells Alaska back to the Russians. That outta piss off Murkowski!
Did Romney forget what the Dems did to him in 2012?
Romney didn’t vote to impeach because he wants to be Harry Reid’s BFF. He voted his conscience based on what he saw as the truth.