Romney Says He Will Very Likely Vote for Witnesses in Impeachment Trial

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said he would support a push from Democrats to call more witnesses to testify in the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

“I think its very likely Ill be in favor of witnesses, but I havent made a decision finally yet and I wont until the testimony is completed,” he told reporters on Saturday after the first day of arguments from the presidents legal team.

When he was asked about Trumps defense, Romney replied, “I just dont have any comments on the process or the evidence until the trial is over.”

Before the trial started, Romney, who has been a vocal critic of Trump, said he would be interested in hearing testimony from former national security adviser John Bolton after he indicated that he would be willing to take the stand in the Senate trial.

“I would like to hear from John Bolton and other witnesses, but at the same time Im comfortable with the Clinton impeachment model when we have opening arguments first and then we have a vote on whether to have witnesses,” Romney remarked earlier in January.

But, in all, four Republicans would have to join Democrats to vote in favor of subpoenas and witnesses in the case, which could potentially trigger a lengthy court battle that would extend the trial.

Romneys comments came after about 20 hours of arguments presented by House managers, led by House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), in which they presented arguments in favor of removing Trump. They have alleged he withheld aid to Ukraine in exchange for potentially advantageous investigations into a political rival, which the president has denied.

On Saturday, Trumps lawyers, led by Pat Cipollone, pushed back against the impeachment managers allegations, saying there was no pressure from the White House or any evidence of a quid pro quo.

In this screengrab taken from a Senate Television webcast, White House counsel Pat Cipollone speaks during impeachment proceedings against U.S. President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 25, 2020 (Senate Television via Getty Images)

There has been speculation that Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who joined Democrats in rejecting the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, would possibly join Democrats on calling for witnesses.

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The Epoch Times

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