Vice President Mike Pence revealed that he believes it is not “a foregone conclusion” that the House will vote to impeach President Trump in the ongoing inquiry launched earlier this year.
“I don’t yet know what’s going to happen in the House. I know that Speaker Pelosi has announced articles of impeachment, but I have to tell you, I served in the Congress for 12 years, and I don’t think it’s a forgone conclusion that the Democrats will be able to get the votes to pass articles of impeachment. I hear from people all over the country — the support for this president, the progress that we’ve made rebuilding our military, reviving this economy,” Pence told Fox News Host Jeanine Pirro Saturday night.
The vice president went on to say that considering Trump’s achievements, the American people were not going to go for impeaching the president.
“I mean yesterday we announced seven million jobs created, 180 conservative judges on our federal courts, and, when people look at the facts in this case, they can read the transcript and see the president did nothing wrong. I know the American people are going to let their voice be heard in the next two weeks, and when the voice of the American people strikes Capitol Hill, anything’s possible,” Pence continued.
{mosads} House Democrats have accused Trump of pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch political investigations while the White House held up millions in military aide to Ukraine. Pence told the Fox News host that he discussed “what President Trump asked me to ask about” in his Sept. 1 meeting with Zelensky.
“When [Trump] asked me to go to Poland to represent him, he’d already scheduled a meeting with President Zelensky. And, the president sat me down and said, ‘Look, we are reviewing this aid, but I want to know what he’s doing about corruption.’ President Zelensky was literally elected in a landslide and the parliamentary election for his party was a landslide on an anti-corruption agenda,” Pence said. “And, the president said: ‘Find out what he’s doing on that — in a sense, you know — check him out, see what you make of him on that.”
Pence added that Trump also asked him to ask the Ukrainian president if “he’s soliciting more European support” for the country.
Officials close to Pence told The Washington Post earlier this year that the vice president was unaware of Trump’s alleged push to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and his son, Hunter Biden.
During his September meeting with Zelensky, Pence did not mention Biden, according to the Washington Post. But former officials told the newspaper that Pence’s focus on corruption could have been interpreted as “code” for the issue. Pence has repeatedly denied that he discussed the reported request for an investigation with the Ukrainian leader.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this week that the House will move forward with impeaching Trump, saying his actions leaves them “no choice” but to pursue an impeachment vote.