"Pilate sought to release him"

John 19:11-12 (New King James Version)

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin.”
¹² From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”