Mike Pence says he would consider testifying before January 6 committee if invited

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Pence made the remarks during a question-and-answer session after a speech at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics’ “Politics & Eggs” breakfast, a common stop for candidates considering running for office.

“If there was an invitation to participate, I would consider it,” Pence said, after calling Jan. 6 a tragic day for all Americans. “But, you heard me mention the Constitution a few times this morning. Under the Constitution, we have three equal branches of government, and any invitation to me I would have to reflect on the unique role I was fulfilling. as vice president. It would be unprecedented in history for a vice president to be called to testify on Capitol Hill. But, as I said, I don’t want to prejudge, so if we ever receive an invitation formal, we would give it all the necessary attention.”

Among them is President Gerald Ford, who voluntarily testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice in 1974 to explain why he pardoned his predecessor Richard Nixon.

Trump’s pressure campaign against Pence

The January 6 committee detailed at a public hearing in June how old President Donald Trump tried to pressure Pence, his vice president, into joining his plan to cancel the 2020 presidential election – and how Pence’s refusal put his life at risk as rioters called for his hanging on January 6, 2021.
8 Takeaways from the January 6 Day 3 Hearings

Two witnesses who told Pence he had no power to overturn the election testified at the June 16 hearing: former Pence attorney Greg Jacob and retired Republican judge J. Michael Luttig .

The committee explained how Trump’s conservative lawyer, John Eastman, advanced a legal theory that Pence could unilaterally block certification of the election – a theory that was flatly rejected by Trump’s lawyers in the White House and Pence’s team, but was nonetheless embraced by the former president.

In a videotaped deposition, which was released on June 16, Marc Short, Pence’s chief of staff, said the vice president told Trump “repeatedly” that he had no authority. legal or constitutional to nullify the results while presiding over the joint session of Congress on January 6 to count the electoral votes.

On Wednesday, Pence also repeated his call for US Attorney General Merrick Garland to give the American people a full account of why the recent search for Trump’s resort at Mar-a-Lago was necessary, citing the politicization of the FBI under the Trump administration.

“This unprecedented action demands unprecedented transparency,” Pence said, while defending the rank-and-file officers. “I just want to remind my fellow Republicans that we can hold the AG accountable for the decision it made without attacking FBI law enforcement personnel. The Republican Party is the party of law and justice. “order. Our party stands in solidarity with the men and women who serve on the thin blue line at the federal, state, and local levels, and these attacks on the FBI must stop. Calls to defund the FBI are just as misguided as calls to defund the police.

Pence flags 2024 bid as he meets lawmakers, delivers speech in South Carolina

Pence spoke to a packed house, with a dozen people standing along the walls. As he has done in recent speeches, he argued that elections are about the future, not the past, and that the GOP must offer a positive view of the future to win.

It was the last of several trips Pence made for States with early presidential nominating contests; New Hampshire is hosting the nation’s first presidential primary, a key contest in the race for the White House. After the speech, he was expected to spend the day campaigning with state Senate candidates and participating in roundtables with business leaders and law enforcement officials before delivering a keynote address at the of a Tri-County GOP event.

This story has been updated.

CNN’s Annie Grayer and Rachel Janfaza contributed to this report.

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