Vice President Mike Pence said Monday that Democrats should open up their impeachment process “to the light of day,” as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a vote later this week to establish procedures for impeachment hearings.
“The American people have a right to know,” Mr. Pence said in an interview on PBS’ “Newshour.” “Impeachment is a grave and serious matter in the life of this nation. And the way the Democrats are conducting this so-called impeachment inquiry on Capitol Hill, behind closed doors, is wrong.”
He said Democrats “should open this whole process to the light of day. They should release all of the transcripts.”
“And they should also respect the due process rights of the president of the United States of America,” the vice president said, noting the last two impeachment inquiries established rules such as allowing presidential counsel in the room.
The president told reporters earlier Monday that he’s advising Republicans that “I’d rather go into the details of the case rather than process.”
“Process is wonderful,” the president said. “But I think you ought to look at the case. And the case is very simple; it’s quick. It’s so quick. I had a great conversation with the Ukrainian president. It was nothing. They tried to take that conversation and make it into a big scandal.”
Democrats are accusing Mr. Trump of pressuring the Ukrainian president to announce publicly an investigation of Democratic frontrunner Joseph R. Biden.
“There was no anything. There was no pressure put on him. No anything,” Mr. Trump said of the transcript of the July 25 phone call. Mr. Pence said the unfairness of the closed impeachment inquiry is “why so many Americans are so frustrated with this Congress.”
“Because, frankly, for the last three years, Congress has been spending most of its energy trying to overturn the will of the American people in the last election,” he said.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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