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Republican Romney says he is 'sickened'
by Trump's behavior during Russia probe
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 [April 22, 2019]
By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Republican
presidential candidate Mitt Romney said on Friday he was "sickened" by
the dishonesty of U.S. President Donald Trump and people around him as
portrayed in a report on Russia's attempts to influence the 2016
election.
Romney, now a U.S. senator from Utah and an off-and-on Trump critic, was
responding to the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who
described how Trump sought to disrupt the probe into ties between his
presidential campaign and Russia.
Mueller did not establish that Trump's campaign team colluded with
Moscow and he did not charge the president with obstructing justice, but
the report provided extensive details of Trump's efforts to thwart the
probe.
Romney said it was "good news" that there had been insufficient evidence
to charge Trump with conspiring with a foreign adversary or obstructing
justice, which he said could have triggered a constitutional crisis.
"Even so, I am sickened at the extent and pervasiveness of dishonesty
and misdirection by individuals in the highest office of the land,
including the President," Romney said in a statement posted on Twitter.
"I am also appalled that, among other things, fellow citizens working in
a campaign for president welcomed help from Russia - including
information that had been illegally obtained; that none of them acted to
inform American law enforcement; and that the campaign chairman was
actively promoting Russian interests in Ukraine," he added.
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Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) walks to his office on the opening day of
the 116th Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. January 3,
2019. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein
Romney was sharply critical of Trump during the 2016 presidential
campaign before being considered briefly as a candidate for
secretary of state in Trump's administration.
His sharp statement on Friday breaks with the position of other
Republicans and the White House, which has declared the report a
victory for the president.
Trump has repeatedly dubbed the investigation a "witch hunt" and
insisted he did not engage in collusion or obstruction.
Trump remains popular with most Republicans but a potential
challenge from someone such as Romney in the Republican primary
process next year could complicate Trump's bid to win a second term
in 2020.
Romney lost the 2012 presidential election to Democratic candidate
Barack Obama.
Congressional Democrats on Friday took legal action to get hold of
all of Mueller's evidence from his inquiry.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; editing by Diane Craft)
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