The former vice president has to testify in the investigation against the former president. A US federal judge has ruled that Mike Pence must appear before the grand jury leading the investigation into Donald Trump over his attempts to undermine the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, according to two sources quoted by the AP. However, Pence will not have to testify about his role as Senate President on the day of the Capitol storm, which detracts from his testimony.
The special counsel leading the investigation into Trump’s possible crimes, Jack Smith, served a subpoena on Pence after unsuccessfully trying to get him to agree to volunteer testimony. The former vice president declined to attend the subpoena, but the judge has ruled he has a duty to do so, although the decision is not final and there is still room for appeal.
The possibility of Pence speaking out against Trump opens another unusual front in the tangle of legal cases surrounding the former president. In addition, it is very likely that the former subordinate would take the step of running in the Republican primary for the 2024 presidential election, which would testify not only against his former boss but also against his electoral rival.
The sources cited by the AP say Pence will not be required to testify about his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, the date of the Capitol attack. This detracts from his interesting testimony as Pence was an exceptional witness to what happened. Pence refused to comply with Trump’s request to halt confirmation of Biden’s victory in Congress on Jan. 6. This refusal to undermine the election result earned him the wrath of his former boss and supporters. The mob chanted “let’s hang Mike Pence” as they made their way to the Capitol.
When subpoenaed by prosecutors, Pence claimed that exercising his role as Senate president that day on Jan. 6 violated the so-called “testimony or debate clause,” which protects congressmen from being accountable for their actions
Trump is the subject of various criminal investigations. His allegation seems plausible (he predicted it) in the Stormy Daniels case, which is being investigated for allegedly passing off payments made to attorney Michael Cohen to silence a porn actress as court record has with whom Trump had a relationship prior to the 2016 presidential election
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The commission investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack recommended trying Trump for four crimes: inciting insurrection, conspiring to make false statements and defrauding the United States, and obstructing an official process of Congress, the Vote to confirm Biden’s victory. Prosecutor Jack Smith is investigating his role in undermining the outcome, which includes urging Georgia’s Secretary of State to “find” the votes he needed to win the state.
Mike Pence was never formally subpoenaed to testify on the House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol, though he always dismissed the idea of appearing before it. At the time, he pointed out that the separation of powers would allow him to avoid testifying in so-called executive privilege. Other charges against Donald Trump that invoke executive privilege have also not been spared grand jury testimony.
At the same time, prosecutor Smith is also investigating secret papers against Trump, where one of the possible crimes is obstruction of justice. A court recently ruled that Trump attorneys Evan Corcoran and Jennifer Little must testify before the grand jury in this case and produce documents related to their client. What the judges rejected in this case is the so-called attorney-client exception that the attorneys claimed not to testify.
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