Former failed presidential candidate and now Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said in an interview published on Monday that he is undecided on support for impeaching President Donald Trump and characterized the behind-closed-doors proceeding as “confidential.”
“I am making sure that I do everything I can to be unbiased and to keep an open mind,” Romney said in a USA Today report. “I also want to see what the facts of the case are.”
“And at this stage the investigation is being done in a confidential setting so I don’t know the full array of facts but so I will study the law and the facts and on that basis make an informed judgment consistent with Constitutional duties,” Romney said.
USA Today painted a glowing picture of Romney, who “has a lot on his mind these days — and he says he’s feeling freer to open up,” including answering the media outlet’s questions in the “lightly edited” transcript it published.
USA Today also links to a cover story about the Q&A entitled: “Mitt Romney: a solitary GOP voice battling Trump for the soul of the Republican Party”
The outlet asked Romney about his legacy:
I’m driven by following the oath of office and doing what I think is right. There’s a song in my church called ‘Do What is Right.’ And the first line is ‘Do what is right. Let the consequence follow.’ I try and do what I think is right. And I’m not going to worry so much about, about the political consequence, or praise or lack thereof. And I hope that my kids down the road will say ‘Yeah, you know our dad, our grandfather our great-grandfather was a person of integrity and honored his oath of office.’
The outlet asked if he would vote for Trump in the next election.
“I’m not going to be weighing in on endorsements or who I would vote for in the presidential campaign,” Romney said.
USA Today also asked Romney if Trump was worried about his criticism of the president and whether he feels more willing to speak out going forward.
“I don’t think he’s worried about me, and I certainly don’t think he should be,” Romney said. “I’m not running for national office again. I’ve had my two strikes.”
“I’m not on my way up. I’ve had my life,” Romney said. “My career, my family, my faith.”
“Those define who I am,” Romney said. “And so I’m really entirely free emotionally to do entirely what I believe is absolutely right. And I said to my kids: ‘My future is behind me.’”
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