MIKE PENCE

Pence must testify in Jan. 6 attack probe, judge rules

Reuters — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 18:14:16 GMT

WASHINGTON — A federal judge has ruled that former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence must testify to a grand jury about conversations he had with former President Donald Trump leading up to January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to media reports.

In a ruling that remains under seal, the judge also said that Pence can still decline to answer questions related to Jan. 6, CNN reported, citing unnamed sources, adding that Pence can still appeal the ruling.

NBC separately reported the judge's split decision citing sources familiar with the ruling, saying it compels Trump former vice president to appear before the federal grand jury but shields him from testifying about Jan. 6, 2021. The New York Times also said the ruling compels Pence's to appear.

Representatives for Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, who is leading the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into Trump and his allies' alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Pence's representatives also could not be immediately reached.

Pence, who is exploring a challenge to Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, is fighting a grand jury subpoena to secure his testimony, sources have told Reuters.

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Pence to fight subpoena in probe of Trump's 2020 election denial

Sarah N. Lynch and Susan Heavey / Reuters — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 18:20:00 GMT

Republican former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is preparing to resist a grand jury subpoena for testimony about efforts to overturn then-President Donald Trump's 2020 reelection loss, a source familiar with his plans said on Tuesday.

Pence will argue that his role as president of the Senate — making him a member of the legislative branch — shields him from certain Justice Department demands, rather than cite executive privilege as then-vice president, the source said.

A representative for Pence did not respond to a request for comment on his decision to challenge Special Counsel Jack Smith's request, first reported by Politico. Smith's office declined to comment.

Smith, a political independent and former war crimes prosecutor, is investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election that included Trump supporters' deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as Congress met to certify Democrat Joe Biden's victory.

Trump has repeatedly made false claims that he lost the 2020 election to Biden through massive voter fraud. He has also harshly criticized Pence for not blocking Congress' certification on Jan. 6 as Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some chanting: "Hang Mike Pence."

Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short, and Greg Jacob, who was Pence's top legal counsel, along with other former top White House lawyers have previously appeared before the grand jury now being led by Smith.

A now-disbanded House of Representatives panel that investigated the attack also sought testimony from Pence, who did not appear. It ultimately called for federal prosecutors to charge Trump with four crimes, including insurrection.

Trump, who is running again for president in 2024, has called the probes part of an ongoing political witch hunt. Pence, who publicly detailed some of his conversations with Trump about the 2020 election in a book last year, is weighing a presidential bid himself and has urged Republicans to move past their White House loss.

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Jan. 6 panel turns attention to Pence at Thursday's hearing

Patricia Zengerle and Richard Cowan / Reuters — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 11:23:23 GMT

WASHINGTON — The congressional committee investigating last year's deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol turns its attention on Thursday to then-President Donald Trump's multiple attempts to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

The House of Representatives Select Committee has scheduled a hearing for noon Central, looking at efforts by Trump and some of his associates to convince Pence not to formally certify Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the November 2020 presidential election.

Thousands of Trump supporters — many chanting "Hang Mike Pence" — marched on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Pence met with lawmakers for what is normally a routine ceremony to certify the election. Some erected a gallows they said was intended for Pence.

The certification had become a focus for Trump, who saw it as a last-ditch chance to retain the presidency despite being defeated. His supporters flocked to Washington to rally with Trump, who had made repeated false claims that the election was stolen through widespread voting fraud.

Thursday's hearing will feature testimony from Greg Jacob, who served as counsel to Pence, and retired U.S. Appeals Court Judge J. Michael Luttig, who was an informal adviser to the vice president.

Videotaped testimony of former Pence chief of staff Marc Short is expected to be broadcast.

The hearing is the third of at least six public hearings this month at which the nine-member, Democratic-led committee will discuss preliminary results of its nearly year-long investigation of the events up to and on Jan. 6, 2021.

Committee aides said the hearing would discuss emergence of a plan advocated by Trump associates including attorney John Eastman that the vice president could unilaterally reject certified electors from disputed states. Pence refused to accept that theory.

"It's a violation of the vice president's constitutional obligations and constitutional law," but Trump chose the path of "escalating" this violation, an aide said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, aides also said the session would look at the pressure campaign on Pence, driven by Trump. They promised new material documenting those efforts, with testimony from the witnesses in the room as well as taped testimony from some of the more than 1,000 depositions and interviews.

The committee intends to lay out a timeline of Pence's day on Jan. 6, which could detail contacts with Trump and Secret Service agents who spirited the vice president to a secure location as the crowd threatened him.

The attack on the Capitol delayed certification of the election for hours, injured more than 140 police officers and led to several deaths. More than 840 people have been arrested and charged so far.

The onslaught marked the only time in U.S. history that power was not passed peacefully from one president to another.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Richard Cowan; editing by Andy Sullivan and David Gregorio.)

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