Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said Donald Trump violated his oath of office on Jan. 6 when he failed to protect the lawmakers including his vice-president as his supporters stormed the Capitol.
“President Trump is guilty of the charge made by the House of Representatives,” Romney said in a statement released following his vote.
Trump “attempted to corrupt the election by pressuring the secretary of state of Georgia to falsify the election results in his state,” and incited “the insurrection against Congress” during the counting of electoral votes.
“He did this despite the obvious and well-known threats of violence that day,” Romney said. “President Trump also violated his oath of office by failing to protect the Capitol, the vice president and others in the Capitol. Each and every one of these conclusions compels me to support conviction.”
Romney was joined by six other Republicans senators—Richard Burr (N.C.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Pat Toomey (Pa.)–and all 50 Democrats to vote guilty on the article of impeachment charging Trump with incitement of insurrection.
