Former Vice President Mike Pence will not obey a grand jury subpoena to testify about efforts to reverse Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat, a source familiar with Pence’s plans said Tuesday.
According to the source, Pence will argue that being president of the Senate, which makes him a member of the legislature, shields him from certain Justice Department demands. Pence has no intention of invoking the privileges he enjoyed as Vice President of the United States.
Pence’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment on the decision to challenge Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request, first reported by Politico. Smith’s office declined to comment.
Smith investigates attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election, including the attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 – when Congress convened to endorse Democrat Joe Biden’s victory .
Trump has repeatedly made false claims that he lost the 2020 election to Biden due to massive fraud. He also criticized Pence for not blocking Congressional certification of Biden’s Jan. 6 victory. As Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some of them chanted “Hang Mike Pence.”
Pence’s chief of staff, Mark Short, and Greg Jacob, who was the former vice president’s general counsel, along with other former White House lawyers, have previously testified before a grand jury now chaired by Smith.
The now disbanded House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol also requested testimony from Pence, who did not show up for the hearing. As a result, the special committee called on federal prosecutors to file four counts against Trump, including inciting sedition.
Trump, who has said he will run for president again in 2024, called the investigation a continuation of a political “witch hunt.” Pence will likely enter the presidential race himself.
