Sen. David Perdue says there's 'not a chance in hell' that President Trump could be removed from office

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Sen. David Perdue says there's 'not a chance in hell' that President Trump could be removed from office

Nothing in the evidence rises to the level of impeachment, says Georgia Senator David Perdue, Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report with Bret Baier," October 28, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, ANCHOR: Let's bring in Senate Armed Services Committee member, Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue to discuss the impeachment news and the successful mission to take out the leader of ISIS. Senator, thanks for the time.

SEN. DAVID PERDUE, R-GA.: Good evening, Bret.

BAIER: I want to get you to react to Nancy Pelosi's move to move forward with this vote to launch the investigation formally. What's your take on it?

PERDUE: Well, we have to wait and see what her resolution actually says and see whether she's going to really give the President due process and have a fair outcome. But we all know, there's nothing that rises to the level of impeachment in this. And we've been calling for a better process that is consistent with the last three instances of this sort of investigation.

They are trying to get an outcome here. They're not interested in the truth. And the last thing, this is another example, Bret, of just the sheer obstructionism this President has endured for three years.

As a matter of fact, The Washington Post headline on the day President Trump was inaugurated January 20th, 2017 said that the campaign for the impeachment of this President has already begun.

BAIER: Is there any chance if Nancy Pelosi gets the votes on an article of impeachment moves through to a Senate trial? Is there any chance in your mind that the President could be convicted in the Senate trial?

PERDUE: Not a chance in hell, Bret.

BAIER: Zero. You've already made up your mind.

PERDUE: Absolutely. I've seen the evidence. There's nothing that rises to the level of impeachment. And look, this is a clear example of the continued obstructionism to try to undo a duly elected President from 2016, Bret.

BAIER: So, when you hear the Mitt Romney's, the Susan Collins, the others of your colleagues who say they haven't decided yet, they want to see the evidence. How do you reach your conclusion?

PERDUE: I reach my conclusion because I've seen the evidence, at least what we've seen so far, there is nothing that rises to the level of impeachment. I can't answer for my colleagues in the Senate, but I'll just tell you this. They're denying the absolute truth that this President is getting results. He's fighting for the people back home. And that's what I think Nancy Pelosi is responding to here, is this outcry in the bigger part of the country outside of Washington, D.C., where people were saying, look, this process is unfair. I think by her calling for this vote, she's admitting that the process been unfair to the President.

BAIER: Is there any chance of a government shutdown during this impeachment effort?

PERDUE: Well, we're doing everything we can to avoid that, Bret. But, you know, the Democrats are holding up this - the NDAA right now and also defense appropriations. Look, they're denying our military veterans and active duty people, 3.5 percent pay raise, the largest in 10 years. They're denying the fact that the Department of Defense already wants to stop spending $4 billion by using a continuing resolution, the Democrats are forces into, they're forced to continue spending that.

This is an outrage. The American people should not accept this. The Democrat are obstructing this President right now because of the wall, something they funded for every President prior to him, the last four presidents. And that's what this is all about. They want to deny the President the wall. And in so doing, they're denying our military personnel. That's what this is all about, Bret.

BAIER: Senator, yesterday, last night, you spent some time sitting next to the President at the World Series game, the Nationals and the Astros. What did you talk about?

PERDUE: Well, we talked about why the Braves weren't there. I'm a Nats fan, but I cheered for the Braves all night.

BAIER: At one moment, there was this moment where the President was acknowledged. Take a listen.

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BAIER: It goes on to lock him up chant there in the Nationals Park. What was his reaction to that?

PERDUE: Well, he made the comment that before he got in politics, 100 percent of the people cheered him. Once he got into politics, 50 percent of the people cheered him. And that's about what I heard last night. But it just shows how out of touch this town is, Bret.

They have no idea how this President got elected. I got elected in the same vein. And people in America are really upset with the fact that this town is just totally dysfunctional and ignores the interests of the rest of the country.

This President is fighting for the rest of the country and he's getting results. That's what I hear. I've traveled all over the country in the last two months. Bret, and that's what I'm hearing loud and clear. The polls will never pick it up, just like they did not in 2016. But I promise you, that's the mood of the people in the bigger part of the country.

BAIER: I want to ask you about the ISIS raid, but two other things on the economy you mentioned there. What about the USMCA, the prospects of that? And how important is it? Is it possible in this Congress?

PERDUE: Well, I keep hearing intonations from the House that Pelosi realizes she needs. She's gone too far on the impeachment proceeding and needs to get something done. But here's the problem, by not passing USMCA and by the way, if she were to put that on the floor of the House, every indication is that that bill would pass.

It's 180,000 jobs, $68 billion of new economic value for our country. And the Democrats are holding it up sheerly on politics. It would pass in the House, if they put it up there. I'm hopeful. And I think there's some reason to believe that Pelosi may be feeling pressure to get that done before Christmas.

BAIER: I've heard you talk before as a businessman about being disappointed to see how government works. I'm just wondering, considering your background, are you convinced the U.S. economy is on solid footing today?

PERDUE: I really do. And here's why. Over the last two and a half years, we've freed up about $6 trillion to come back into the economy because of overregulation, bad tax law and a Dodd-Frank bill that was choking our community banks. We've moved to pull back all regulations, passed two energy bills that allow us to be producing more gas and oil than any other country in the world. Pass a tax bill that makes it competitive to the rest of the world.

And then a bipartisan bill to pull back on Dodd-Frank to free up capital in these community banks. The results are standing. I would say this is the best economic turnaround in U.S. history. And the reason I'm optimistic about it continuing is that the consumer has still got confidence in the direction we're heading. There's plenty of cash in the system. And I'm just bullish on the fact that with immigration, trade and infrastructure coming, the American people see that this agenda of President Trump is working.

BAIER: Last thing, Senator. Quickly, about the ISIS raid, the successful ISIS raid, President's getting criticism not only for by some on Capitol Hill saying, he said too much about the raid. Other Democrats say they weren't briefed about the raid. Other people saying he's touting himself too much in this raid. And they point back to this tweet from 2012 where Donald Trump at the time said stop congratulating Obama for killing bin Laden. The Navy SEALs killed bin Laden debate. Your thoughts on all those criticisms?

PERDUE: Well, first of all, yesterday was a great day for America and the world. Our Special Forces and intel community with our partners took out the founder of ISIS, the number one terrorist in the world, if any other president was in office, we'd have dancing in the streets today, Bret, just like we did when bin Laden was taken out.

The problem right now is that I believe this President's strategy has not changed. There was a lot of disinformation in the media in the last couple of weeks. We are there to defeat ISIS and continue to do that. And to do that, we took away their territorial caliphate earlier this year, denied them access to resources. We continue to do that. And it's a tactical situation. We're redeploying troops inside Syria to do that. And we just took out their leader and, by the way, the leading candidate for his successor. So, this is a great day for freedom and for America and the world.

Remember, Bret--

BAIER: Do you think we'll be back on the ground with the Kurds, working side-by-side?

PERDUE: We already did. Nothing changed there. And we were never not on the ground working with the Kurds in Syria. That's the biggest misinformation, I believe that's come out. But remember who this guy was, Bret.

This is the guy who took 20 people and put them in jumpsuits on a beach in Libya and beheaded them. He's also the guy that poured gasoline on a captured Jordanian pilot in a cage and lit him up. He's also the guy that killed thousands of people by beheading them, Christians and Muslims alike in Iraq and Syria. This was a great day for America. And I applaud the President, our special forces and our Defense Department for making this happen.

BAIER: Senator David Perdue up on Capitol Hill, we appreciate your time.

PERDUE: Thanks, Bret.

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