Pence is now confronting a potentially fraught political path in the form of a subpoena from the Justice Department’s special counsel overseeing criminal investigations involving Trump, including the former president’s efforts to block transfer of power.
President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence arrive in the Rose Garden to speak on COVID-19 on Sept. 28, 2020.The former vice president is the most senior member of the Trump administration to receive a subpoena.
It was not immediately clear whether Pence would comply with the summons or if Trump would assert executive privilege in an attempt to block Pence from testifying.The prospect of providing testimony in a criminal case comes at a sensitive time for Pence: He is consideringTrump and allies have continued to assail Pence for his refusal to toss out electoral votes that favored Biden.
Pence, however, declined to testify to the committee, saying the House panel had"no right" to ask about private conversations with the president. He also described the commission's work as overly partisan., the chair and co-char of the Jan. 6 committee, said it had"proceeded respectfully and responsibly in our engagement with Vice President Pence, so it is disappointing that he is misrepresenting the nature of our investigation while giving interviews to promote his new book.
Pence attorney Greg Jacob said the vice president took the call outside the presence of staffers. At the White House, meanwhile, Trump's family members and aides, present in the Oval Office during the call, overheard Trump lashing his vice president as he prepared to depart for the Capitol to oversee certification of Biden's election.During the 11:20 a.m. call, Ivanka Trump recalled her father taking a"pretty heated" tone with Pence.