Romney says he would have pardoned Trump after accusations

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said he would have pardoned former President Trump if he had been in President Biden’s position when federal charges were filed against him.

In an interview set to air Wednesday night on MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle,” Romney said Biden would have looked like the “great guy” compared to Trump if he pardoned the former president.

“If I were President Biden, when the Department of Justice brought the charges, I would have pardoned him immediately. I would have pardoned President Trump,” Romney said.

“Why? Well, because that makes me, President Biden, the big guy and the person who forgave the little guy,” Romney added, referring to Trump.

Special Counsel Jack Smith filed two federal charges against the former president – ​​who is also the presumptive Republican Party nominee for president – ​​one relating to his efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 presidential election and another accusing him of intentionally withholding national defense information and obstructing the federal government’s efforts to recover the documents.

Romney also noted that it remains highly unlikely that either of these two federal cases will be resolved before the November election. He said he did not believe the cases would change public perception.

“And number two, this will not be resolved before the election. It will have no impact before the elections. And, frankly, the country doesn’t want to have to prosecute a former president,” Romney continued.

Romney said he believes the American people “recognized” some fundamental facts in Trump’s accusations, including, Romney said, that he allegedly took confidential documents and did not handle them properly.

“I think they realize he’s lying about the 2020 election,” Romney added. “They know these things. So these things are not changing public attitudes. And frankly, we should go beyond that and focus on the big issues that really matter to the American people, our inflation, our border, what’s happening around the world, America’s involvement in the world.”

Romney, who will retire after this term, has distinguished himself from other Republican lawmakers by his willingness to criticize the former president when he sees fit. He also made history during Trump’s first impeachment, when he became the first senator to vote to convict a president from his own party.

Several other Republican senators joined him in voting to convict Trump in the second impeachment trial.

During the Republican presidential primary race, some candidates were quick to say they would also pardon the former president, including candidate Nikki Haley, who said at the time, “It’s not a question of innocence or guilt at this point, because that means he would have already been found guilty,” adding, “I believe that, in the best interest of uniting the country, I would pardon Donald Trump. Because I think it’s important for the country to move forward.”

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story