US Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, USA, January 19, 2021.
Erin Scott | Reuters
Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said on Sunday that former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate is constitutional and that Trump’s alleged involvement in the U.S. Capitol riot is an impeachable crime.
Romney’s comments came after several Senate Republicans expressed support for a contested legal argument that holding a Senate trial after a president stepped down is unconstitutional.
“It is very clear that the effort is constitutional,” Romney said during an interview with CNN. “I believe that what is being claimed and what we have seen, which is an incitement to insurrection, is an offense liable to impeachment.
Trump became the first U.S. president to be charged by the House twice after the House accused him of high crimes and misdemeanors for inciting a US Capitol insurrection on January 6 that left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer.
A week after the insurrection, 10 Republicans joined all 222 Democrats in the vote to accuse Trump. The Senate impeachment trial is set to begin the week of February 8.
The process will begin on Monday, when the House files its impeachment article with the Senate. Senators will take their oath as jurors on Tuesday.
The Senate will need 67 votes to condemn Trump. If all Democrats support a conviction, they would need 17 Republicans to join them. If the Senate condemns Trump, he could be prevented from becoming president again in 2025.
Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania asked Trump to step down. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told colleagues he has not yet decided whether to vote or not to condemn Trump.
Romney was the only Senate Republican to join the Democrats in an attempt to oust the president from office in December 2019.
Trump was impeached for the first time for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden. The Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him.