Mitt Romney votes to convict President Trump; says 'He followed his conscience'

Republican Senator Mitt Romney broke the party line and voted to 'convict' US President Donald Trump for the impeachment charges levied against him on Wednesday morning. Romney announced his decision during a speech on the floor of the Senate hours before the voting began on the impeachment of the US President. 

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Romney breaks away 

Senator Romney delivered an eight-minute speech where he announced his decision and also gave an explanation for the same. He concluded by saying, "I acknowledge that my verdict will not remove the President from office. The results of this Senate court will infact be appealed to a higher court, the judgment of the American people. Voters will make the final decision just as the President's lawyers had implored. My vote will likely be in the minority in the Senate but irrespective of these things, with my vote, I will tell my children and their children that I did my duty to the best of my ability, beliving that my country expected of me. I will be only one name among many - no more, no less to future generations of Americans who will look at the record of this trial. They will note merely that I was among the Senators who determined what the President did was wrong, grievously wrong. We are all footnotes at best in the annals of history but in the most powerful nation on earth - the nation conceived liberty and justice that distinction is enough for any citizen."

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The 2012 Presidential candidate seemed to choke up soon after he began his speech when he mentioned that he was a man of faith and that he swore to God to "exercise impartial justice". 

It was the first time in the history that a member of the President's party voted for the removal of the President.

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President Trump is facing impeachment on two articles - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress and the Senate will vote on Wednesday morning. 

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(Image credits: AP)