[John Roberts, Chief Justice, Supreme Court:] The Senate having tried Donald John Trump, President of the United States, upon to articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of Representatives and two-thirds of the senators present, not having found him guilty of the charges contained therein. It is therefore ordered and adjudged that the said Donald John Trump be, and he is hereby acquitted of the charges in said articles.
[Rosemary Church, Cnn International Anchor:] Chief Justice John Roberts there announcing the acquittal of Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial. Only one senator broke ranks and the mostly partisan vote, Republican Mitt Romney. He's the only senator in history to vote to remove a president of his own party. Here's how he explained his decision.
[Sen. Mitt Romney:] The allegations made in the Articles of Impeachment are very serious. As a senator juror, I swore an oath before God to exercise impartial justice. I am profoundly religious. My faith is at the heart of who I am. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the president, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong. The historic meaning of the words high crimes and misdemeanors, the writings of the founders, and my own reasoned judgment, convince me that a president can indeed commit acts against the public trust, that are so egregious that while they are not statutory crimes, they would demand removal from office. To maintain that the lack of a codified and comprehensive list of all the outrageous acts that a President might conceivably commit, renders Congress powerless to remove such a president defies reason The grave question the constitution task senators to answer is whether the President committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor. Yes, he did. The president asked a foreign government to investigate his political rival. The President withheld vital military funds from that government to press it to do so. The President delayed funds for an American ally at war with Russian invaders. The President's purpose was personal and political. Accordingly, the President is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust. What he did was not perfect. No, it was a flagrant assault on our electoral rights, our national security, and our fundamental values. Corrupting an election keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one's oath of office that I can imagine. With my vote, I will tell my children and their children, that I did my duty to the best of my ability, believing that my country expected it of me. I will only be one name among many, no more, no less, to future generations of Americans who look at the record of this trial. They will know merely that I was among this introduce who determined that what the President did was wrong, grievously wrong.
[Church:] Larry Sabato is the Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. He joins me now from Charlottesville. Always good to have you with us.
[Larry Sabato, Director, Center For Politics, University Of Virginia:] Thank you, Rosemary.
[Church:] So, Mitt Romney became the first senator in U.S. history to vote to convict his own party's president in an impeachment trial. How significant were his actions and would you call it bravery or political suicide?
[Sabato:] Well, certainly there's going to be consequences that are negative for him and probably for a long time. And I think he knows that. But I would say it was very brave because he's the only one. If you were part of a group, then at least the anger would be diffused. But he knows what's coming. He and Trump have never really gotten along well. And Romney, it's well known privately, doesn't think a great deal of President Trump and probably it's mutual. But this was a very significant thing. And anybody who watched is a short speech, or even a piece of it understood that this was heartfelt. He was very emotional when he was giving his statement. So, I tend to think that this matters a lot, that people are going to remember it. And they know Mitt Romney. They respect Mitt Romney. This isn't just some garden variety senator that no one has ever heard of. Here's the 2012 Republican presidential nominee condemning, in essence, the 2016 presidential nominee of the Republican Party who actually became president.
[Church:] And I want to ask you about that because how is it possible that Senator Romney found what the President did was grievously wrong, but none of the other Republican senators agreed with him? What might that tell us?
[Sabato:] Well, partly, I think Romney is very secure in his seat and Utah, and he's got another five years to run on this term. So who knows what the situation will be in 2024. I doubt that impeachment of Donald Trump will be the foremost issue that far into the future. But anybody who has known Romney and worked with him over the years understands that his religion LDS Mormon really does have an impact on his day to day life. And he mentioned his belief in God and the importance of his religion a couple of times in the speech and I think it was very sincere.
[Church:] So, do the actions of the other Republican senators prove that votes like this are more about self-interest than a conscience vote?
[Sabato:] Well, as I always tell people because I've studied John F. Kennedy very well. He was the author of a book called Profiles and Courage. And it was a very thin book because there aren't that many profiles and courage. I think Romney qualifies. If we ever have a new edition of Profiles and Courage, he'll get a chapter. I can't think of another Republican senator who will.
[Church:] Yes, and of course, Romney talked of the likely consequences of his actions. And is he hinting a presidential and party intimidation and what might this mean for his future in the party do you think?
[Sabato:] All I can tell you is I spent a good chunk of my day on Twitter, meaning it was wasted, but I did learn some things being on Twitter. Hundreds, if not thousands of Trump supporters took out after him and anyone who defended him on Twitter. It was intense. It was as though the hive of the Trump cult had been jostled, and the bees came roaring out. And that's just day one. This is something he's going to feel for the rest of his career.
[Church:] And I don't want to put you on the spot. But how should this impeachment trial has ended, given what we now know from witness testimony and various documents that were presented?
[Sabato:] Oh, my goodness, I personally think that he was guilty on both counts. I don't even think the arguments, the factual arguments are in doubt. The House managers, as many Republican senators have admitted privately prove their case. In the old days, when we had better standards, higher standards, I think he would have been convicted. And it's not as though a Democrat stepping into the presidency, he would have a conservative Republicans succeeding him. I guess he probably would present fewer problems for the election. But it's not to be because personal loyalty Donald Trump is everything, absolutely everything.
[Church:] We live in interesting times, no doubt. Larry Sabato, always great to have you on the show. Thank you.
[Sabato:] Thank you, Rosemary. Thanks a lot.
[Church:] One of Hollywood's legendary stars has died. Kirk Douglas was 103 years old. And in that long-celebrated life, he challenged the movie establishment creating his own production company and helping to end the notorious Hollywood blacklist. Stephanie Elam looks back at his life and career.
[Stephanie Elam, Cnn International Correspondent:] Before Kirk Douglas became a big star, he was Issur Danielovitch Demsky, born to Russian immigrant parents in 1916. Douglas headed to Hollywood after serving in the Navy during World War II. Caricaturists focused on the famous cleft chin, but beyond that he was distinctive for the way he tore into each part with almost animal ferocity. After his breakthrough role in 1949's Champion, came a slew of memorable parts. The ambitious Hollywood producer in the Bad and the Beautiful, the rebellious soldier and Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory. The sailor in Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Artist Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life, and perhaps his biggest one, Spartacus.
[Unidentified Male:] I'm Spartacus. I'm Spartacus.
[Elam:] Douglas produced the historical epic and hire Dalton Trumbo to write it. Dalton was one of the 10 Hollywood figures who were blacklisted for 13 years for refusing to disavow communism at a congressional hearing. Douglas felt breaking the blacklist was his proudest moment.
[Kirk Douglas, Actor:] Studios would not mind using a blacklisted writer as long as they didn't have to look at him, as long as he didn't come into the studio, and as long as he never used his name. And that was such hypocrisy, that it didn't raise me. And I decided the hell with it. I'm going to I'm producing Spartacus and I want to use Dalton Trumbo's name.
[Elam:] Douglas performed in more than 80 films, produced almost 30, and directed two. His son, Michael, followed him into the business and became an A-list star himself.
[Michael Douglas, Actor:] I think that he kind of personifies the individual at the time of the big studios, the man who stood alone.
[Elam:] In 1991, he survived a helicopter crash in which two people were killed. Five years later, he suffered a debilitating stroke that affected his speech and left him contemplating suicide. The three-time Academy Award nominee was finally recognized by the Academy in 1996 with an Honorary Award for his half-century of accomplishments in the motion picture industry. In his later years, Douglas wrote a number of successful books, including his memoirs, and still did some occasional acting, appearing in a one-man stage show and starring with son Michael in the 2003 film, It Runs in The Family. Whether on-screen or off, professional accolades or personal challenges, Kirk Douglas approach life in a simple yet powerful way.