Pence: ‘I don’t take it as a foregone conclusion that the House will vote to impeach’

Vice President Mike Pence said that he does not think it’s a “foregone conclusion that the House will vote to impeach” in an interview Monday. 

Pence defended President Trump and criticized House Democrats for how they are running the impeachment inquiry. When asked on PBS NewsHour what he thought the Senate would do if the impeachment case reaches the upper chamber, Pence responded he doesn’t think it’s definite the inquiry will reach that point.

{mosads}“I don’t take it as a foregone conclusion that the House will vote to impeach President Donald Trump,” he said.

Pence condemned the whistleblower for creating a “mischaracterized” version of Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) for providing a “fabricated version” of the call during a hearing. Schiff has since said he made the comments partly in jest. 

“When people read the transcript, they’ll see despite the reckless allegations of many in the media, there was no quid pro quo,” Pence said.

“As the facts all come out, I think the American people will come to understand that and I expect  let their voice be heard on Capitol Hill,” he added.

The vice president also denounced the House Democrats for their handling of the inquiry, saying Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “unilaterally” opened the inquiry.

The House Democrats are planning to hold a vote this week on the impeachment inquiry to “ensure transparency” and “provide a clear path forward,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said earlier Monday.

House Republicans protested the process of the impeachment inquiry last week by barging into a sensitive compartmented information facility where testimony for the inquiry was scheduled to occur.