Romney says that Trump impeachment trial is 'constitutional' and needed 'for accountability, truth, and justice'
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- Sen. Mitt Romney says that a Senate impeachment trial held after Trump's departure is constitutional.
- The House impeached Trump for "incitement of insurrection" for his role in the Capitol riots.
- Romney voted to convict Trump of abuse of power in the former president's first impeachment trial.
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Sen. Mitt Romney did not reveal if he would vote to convict former President Donald Trump for "incitement of insurrection" in the upcoming Senate impeachment trial, but he feels as though the proceedings are constitutional.
On "Fox News Sunday," the Utah Republican and 2012 GOP presidential nominee said that the current article "suggests impeachable conduct" as it pertains to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
"I think there will be a trial and I hope it goes as quickly as possible but that's up to the counsel on both sides," he said. "There's no question that the article of impeachment that was sent over by the House suggests impeachable conduct, but we have not yet heard either from the prosecution or the defense."
—The Recount (@therecount) January 24, 2021
Romney added: "I'll get a chance to hear from them, and I'll do my best as a Senate juror to apply justice as well as I can understand it."
In February 2020, Romney was the only Republican senator who voted to convict the president of abuse of power in the Senate trial of his first impeachment over the Ukraine scandal.
Host Chris Wallace asked Romney if the current article of impeachment should be tossed as a matter of procedure, since Trump is no longer is office.
"The Democrats have the majority in the Senate and I doubt they're going to go along with that move," he replied. "At the same time, if you look at the preponderance of the legal opinion by scholars over the years … the preponderance of opinion is that yes, an impeachment trial is appropriate after someone leaves office."
He then added: "If we're going to have unity in our country, I think it's important to recognize the need for accountability, for truth and justice."