Fmr. Rep. Francis Rooney Reacts To Second Trump Impeachment

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: I mean, I wonder whether you agree first with the premise that this is, in fact, a moment of reckoning for the GOP.

FRANCIS ROONEY, FORMER REPRESENTATIVE OF FLORIDA: This is a moment of reckoning for the — for the Republican Party, and for our country, and for — basically, for our constitutional rights. And we need to take stock about what happened this week for all the perspective that it deserves.

AMANPOUR: So, I guess — I guess of the initial aim was to have some accountability. And that’s what the House said this impeachment was about. I’m going to read the article. “President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of government.” What is there, if anything, that you disagree with in that statement?

ROONEY: Well, I mean, it’s — it may be a little hyperbolic just a bit. But — and I don’t think we know yet if all of the elements of a crime, of incitement to insurrection are proved. We may know with the Senate hearing, we may know by civil courts later, but it’s clearly directionally correct. This guy incited people to do things that were very bad and very destructive to our country, as he has many times before. In this time, he got caught. This time, they acted on it in a very, very terrible way. And they all need to face the consequences, I think including the president.

AMANPOUR: Well, as you know, there are a number of your party members who do believe that, that has been proved, and what the president has done is a high crime and misdemeanor. And certainly, national security experts are calling him the spiritual leader of a movement that has incited this insurrection. Others have called it, people who worked for him, a coup attempt that obviously didn’t work. So, you obviously believe that there should have been accountability. I don’t know what you might have done, had you been in the House? Because you didn’t vote to convict. No, no, no Republicans voted to impeach last time around. Would you have done this time?

ROONEY: I probably, I would have voted for it this time, and I almost did last time. I spent a lot of time with the Speaker discussing the need to get more evidence before they moved on impeachment, to make sure that they could build enough of a case to win. I wasn’t interested in just a pyrrhic victory, which is what they obtained. What Trump did with Kislyak, as you know, better than I do was outrageous, it wasn’t right. But it didn’t rise to the level of impeachment.