Mike Pence defends Donald Trump in PBS interview: It's not a 'foregone conclusion' House will vote to impeach

WASHINGTON - Vice President Mike Pence doesn't believe the House voting to impeach President Donald Trump is a "foregone conclusion."

In an interview that aired Monday on PBS NewsHour, Pence firmly defended Trump, reiterating multiple times that there was no "quid quo pro" with Ukraine and criticizing the Democrats' handling of the impeachment inquiry.

"If the House goes ahead and votes to impeach the president, what do you believe will happen in the United States Senate? Do you believe they will convict the president and remove him from office?" PBS' Judy Woodruff asked Pence.

He answered, "Well, let's be clear first that I don't take it as a foregone conclusion that the House will - will vote to impeach President Donald Trump.

"I mean, as the American people take a look at the facts in this case, they read the transcript, it was so mischaracterized by the whistleblower, and grossly mischaracterized by Chairman Adam Schiff in his fabricated version of the phone call that he read into the committee," Pence continued. "But when people read the transcript, they will see, despite the reckless allegations of many in the media, there was no quid pro quo. President (Volodymyr) Zelensky himself said there was no pressure, that it was a perfectly good phone call. The president did nothing wrong."

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A majority of House members have said they support the impeachment inquiry.

Pence railed against House Democrats for how they've conducted the impeachment investigation, blaming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for "unilaterally" opening the inquiry.

Pelosi declared a formal impeachment inquiry Sept. 24 and said an umbrella of six committees would continue to investigate Trump and his administration for possible offenses such as abuse of power and obstruction of justice. Her declaration came amid reports about the president's call July 25 to Ukraine's president, when Trump urged an investigation of his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Earlier Monday, it was announced that the House of Representatives will vote this week to formalize impeachment inquiry procedures after weeks of resisting a full House vote and unrelenting attacks by Republicans for holding depositions behind closed doors.

Pelosi sent a letter to members that outlined the resolution, which seeks to combat a key line of Republican attack: that the impeachment inquiry was illegitimate because there was no House vote on it.

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Republicans on the Hill and within Trump's administration have bemoaned the handling of the inquiry because of this with about three dozen House GOP members storming the gates of Defense Department official Laura Cooper's testimony last week.

"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," Pence added.

Forty-seven Republicans on the committees leading the investigation have had access to the closed-door depositions.

Pence called the inquiry against Trump "a disgrace," and demeaned damaging testimonies from government officials as mere "leaks."