PENCE GETS SUBPOENA FOR JAN. 6 TESTIMONY
But whether he will comply, how much he’ll say or when — up in air
Former Vice President Mike Pence was facing a tough decision Friday after receiving a grand jury subpoena for testimony about the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Pence has resisted speaking either publicly or under oath about what he knows about former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which culminated in the failed insurrection attempt.
It is unclear whether negotiations for his testimony, which have dragged on for months, broke down or whether the subpoena reflects a breakthrough in those talks between Pence’s team and special counsel Jack Smith.
Pence, who was hunted by violent supporters of Trump on Jan. 6, has been silent about whether he would comply with a subpoena.
He could choose to fight the summons in court, a process that could take months to play out.
Most legal analysts believe he would eventually have to testify, although the former veep might be able to carve out some questions that he would not have to answer on the basis of executive privilege, which protects the secrecy of presidential decision making.
There is speculation that Pence is mulling a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
The subpoena to Pence as part of the special counsel investigation was served in recent days. It was first reported by ABC News early Friday
Legal eagles say the fact that Pence has been subpoenaed suggests Smith’s probe is further along than many had believed and is focusing on Trump’s intent in seeking to stay in power.
Prosecutors usually question top-level witnesses like Pence once they have built a strong foundation of a case against their main target, in this case Trump, one lawyer said.
“There are questions that only Mike Pence can answer,” former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said.
Pence has walked a tightrope about Jan. 6 almost from the moment that Trump sicced a mob of extremist MAGA loyalists on him after he rebuffed his ex-boss’ demands to join his effort to cling to power despite losing the election to President Biden.
Pence and his family were forced to run for their lives from rioters who chanted “hang Mike Pence” and erected a makeshift gallows outside the Capitol building.
Despite the rift with Trump, Pence has sought to avoid openly taking sides against him for fear of offending his legion of supporters who could play a pivotal role in the 2024 GOP presidential primary race.
Pence rejected entreaties from the congressional Jan. 6 committee to speak, but did give his approval for top aides to do so.
A subpoena from a grand jury holds significantly more legal weight than a congressional edict and Pence might have a difficult time explaining himself if he refuses to talk.
The subpoena marks an aggressive new step from Smith, a former Brooklyn federal prosecutor who led the Justice Department’s public corruption section and who oversaw indictments against major political figures.
By all accounts, Pence was a central figure in Trump’s efforts to stay in power by hook or crook.
Trump falsely insisted that his vice president, who had a ceremonial role in overseeing the certification of the election, could simply reject the results and send them back to the battleground states he contested.
Smith, who was named special counsel in November by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has been tasked with overseeing investigations into Trump’s attempts to subvert his defeat, into his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and into his possession of top-secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.
Federal prosecutors have been especially focused on a scheme by Trump allies to elevate fake presidential electors in key battleground states won by Biden as a way to subvert the vote, issuing subpoenas to multiple state Republican party chairs.
Despite the mountain of evidence that has surfaced, only Pence could testify about what Trump personally told him, which would amount to priceless evidence about his state of mind and intent to thwart Biden from taking power peacefully.
Federal prosecutors have brought multiple Trump administration officials before the grand jury for questioning, including former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Pence’s own former chief of staff, Marc Short.
In a sign of the expanding nature of the investigation, election officials in multiple states whose results were disputed by Trump have received subpoenas asking for communications with or involving Trump and his campaign aides.