Former US Vice President Mike Pence is now ready to testify in the investigation into the January 6, 2021 Capitol storming. As Pence adviser Devin O’Malley told the AFP news agency on Wednesday, the former deputy to ex-President Donald Trump will not appeal against a judge’s decision at the end of March that required him to testify.
“Vice President Pence will not be appealing the judge’s decision and will be complying with the subpoena as required by law,” O’Malley said. According to media reports, a statement could be made this month.
That would be a major win for Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who wants to question Pence about his January 6 talks with Trump. However, Trump could continue to try to prevent his former vice president from testifying before the judiciary.
Federal judge James Boasberg in the capital Washington last week ruled that Pence must testify about his discussions with Trump in the days before the attack on Congress. However, the conservative politician could himself refuse to make any statements about the events of January 6th.
Trump wants to prevent Pence from testifying
On that day, the then Vice President, in his role as Senate President, chaired a session of Congress to confirm Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the November 2020 presidential election. Pence is therefore claiming parliamentary immunity.
Trump, in turn, wants to prevent his former deputy from testifying, citing his so-called executive privilege, which allows him to keep certain conversations secret. The ex-president could still appeal Judge Boasberg’s decision, but the chances of success are considered slim.
Radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 to prevent Biden’s election victory from being certified. Trump had repeatedly called on Pence to stop parliamentary confirmation of the outcome of the election. Pence refused, however, saying he had no authority to do so.
The attack on the Capitol with five dead had shaken the United States and is considered a black day in the history of US democracy. For weeks, Trump had been spreading the false claim that massive election fraud had robbed him of a second term. Shortly before the Capitol was stormed, the right-wing populist called on his supporters in a speech to march to the Capitol and fight “whatever the hell”.
Trump appeared in court
Special Counsel Smith is not only examining Trump’s possible criminal responsibility for the attack on Parliament. He also deals with numerous secret documents that Trump took from the White House to his private estate in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, at the end of his term in office.
Just last Thursday, Trump was charged by the New York judiciary for having paid hush money to a porn actress before the 2016 presidential election. The ex-president pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges at a historic court hearing on Tuesday.
Manhattan prosecutors are charging the 76-year-old Republican, who wants to run again in the 2024 presidential election, with forging business documents.
Pence has publicly condemned the charges against his former boss. However, he is considered a potential rival to Trump in the race for the conservative Republican presidential candidacy. (AFP)
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