'I respect him, I think it's a courageous statement, but I believe that to make a case for obstruction of justice you just don't have the elements that are evidenced in this document,' said Romney.
Utah Senator and one-time Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Sunday said fellow Republican lawmaker, Congressman Justin Amash was"courageous" for publicly stating his belief that President Donald Trump had"engaged in impeachable conduct," but that he didn't believe in moving forward with the process of removing the president from office.
"My own view is that Justin Amash has reached a different conclusion than I have," Romney told host Jake Tapper. "I respect him, I think it's a courageous statement, but I believe that to make a case for obstruction of justice you just don't have the elements that are evidenced in this document.
The impeachment process begins in the House of Representatives, where only a simple majority is needed to indict the president. Given the Democrats sizeable majority in that chamber, Republicans like Amash would likely not even be needed to successfully impeach Trump. However, the actual decision of whether or not to remove the president would reside with the Senate, where a two-thirds majority is needed.
"An abuse of power is going to be a whole different level, which suggests impeachment. I don't think impeachment is the right way to go," explained Romney."One of the things that's difficult in order to make a case for obstruction of justice or impeachment is whether or not there was intent, and when there's not an underlying crime I think it's difficult to put together an effective case to prosecute those crimes.
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