Lee says Romney should not be punished for impeachment vote

Lee says Romney should not be punished for impeachment vote

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He says ‘there is enough space in the GOP for both of us.’

(Susan Walsh | AP file photo, pool) Senator Mike Lee of Utah is shown here in an archive photo from December 11, 2020. Lee is defending Senator Mitt Romney’s vote to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. Lee says Romney should not be punished for this vote because there is room for dissenting opinions in the Republican Party.

| February 19, 2021, 11:17 pm

| Updated: February 20, 2021, 1:56 am

Senator Mike Lee is defending Senator Mitt Romney’s vote to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. Although Lee disagrees with Romney’s conclusion, he doesn’t see it as a “cause for alarm”.

“Although Senator Romney and I generally vote together – and with most Senate Republicans, we vote differently,” said Lee’s statement issued during his 2022 reelection campaign. “This shows that none of us blindly adheres to nobody.”

Romney was the first U.S. senator in history to vote to convict a president of his own political party when he was the only Republican to vote for the conviction during Trump’s first impeachment trial in February 2020. At the second trial, Romney was accompanied by six other Republicans who concluded that Trump was guilty of inciting the crowd that attacked the United States Capitol on January 6. That riot left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer.

Romney was the target of much contempt by Republicans for voting against the majority of his party at the end of the trial. There was pressure on social media to censor him, with an effort saying he “misrepresented himself as a Republican” and accused him of being an agent of the “deep state” that opposed Trump. Other Utah Republicans asked for his resignation to vote.
As protesters stormed the Capitol building on January 6, Lee told The Salt Lake Tribune that Trump accidentally called his cell phone, thinking he was trying to contact the newly elected Alabama senator, Tommy Tuberville. During the impeachment trial, Lee, along with other Republican senators, consulted with Trump’s legal team to discuss his legal strategy before starting the defense of the former president.

Lee categorically disagreed with calls to punish Romney for his vote.

“Although Senator Romney and I sometimes come to different conclusions, there is enough space in the Republican tent for both of us – as well as there is enough space for all Republicans in a general election, regardless of how they voted in the primaries,” read Lee’s demo .

Lee’s words echo those of the Utah Republican Party. The state GOP issued a statement after the differing impeachment votes by Lee and Romney, saying that “diversity of thought” is a boon for political parties and warning against “unanimity of thought”.

Lee’s public statement of support for Romney comes as he prepares to run for a third term in the U.S. Senate next year. He is already facing opposition, as the left wing Alliance for a Better Utah launched the “Humans Against Mike Lee” campaign this week, with the aim of overthrowing him. He is also raising funds well ahead of next year’s race, with an email stating that he is the main target of the anti-Trump group “Project Lincoln”.

In Lee’s opinion, differences in political thinking will make the Republican Party stronger as they move towards the 2022 midterm elections.

“The Republican Party must work tirelessly to retake the House and Senate in 2022. Having different perspectives within our party leads to a more robust debate, which in turn produces more thoughtful policy results – all of which will be a benefit for Republicans in future elections. … The Republican Party tent is open to anyone willing to support our common and freedom-oriented goals, ”wrote Lee.

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