Mike Pence Subpoenaed as Investigation Rapidly Escalates: Reports
Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel overseeing investigations into the actions of former President Donald Trump and his allies to challenge the results of the 2020 election, according to a person with direct knowledge of the event.
The subpoena to Pence as part of the investigation by special counsel Jack Smith was served in recent days, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday to discuss a sensitive issue.
The extraordinary scenario of a former vice president potentially testifying against his former boss in a criminal investigation comes as Pence considers launching a 2024 Republican presidential bid against Trump.
The two men have been at odds since the incursion of the U.S. Capitol building by Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.
The subpoena is an aggressive step from a prosecutor who for years led the Justice Department’s public corruption section and who oversaw indictments against major political figures.
The move sets the stage for a likely executive privilege fight, given Pence’s close proximity to Trump for four years as major decisions were being contemplated and planned.
Representatives of Pence and Smith declined to comment on the issuance of the subpoena, which was first reported by ABC News.
Mike Pence subpoenaed by special counsel probing Donald Trump https://t.co/FfFqRhT01k
— ABC News (@abcnews) February 10, 2023
In his fight over the integrity of the 2020 election, Trump claimed his vice president, who had a role in overseeing the certification of the election, could simply reject the results and send them back to the battleground states he contested.
On Jan. 6, Trump supporters marched to the Capitol building while Pence was presiding over the certification of Biden’s victory. As many in the crowd entered the building, the vice president was steered to safety with his staff and family.
While the mob was in the Capitol, Trump tweeted, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”
Smith, who was named special counsel in November by Biden administration Attorney General Merrick Garland, has been tasked with overseeing investigations into whether Trump broke the law following the election, including his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 incursion.
Federal prosecutors have been focused on whether Trump allies sought to elevate fake presidential electors in key 2020 battleground states, issuing subpoenas to multiple state Republican party chairs.
Federal prosecutors have brought multiple Trump administration officials before the grand jury for questioning, including former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Pence’s former chief of staff, Marc Short.
In a sign of the expanding nature of the investigation, election officials in multiple states whose results were disputed by Trump have received subpoenas asking for communications with or involving Trump and his campaign aides.
A House committee made up of seven Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans held hearings from July 2021 to December 2022 as it investigated the Jan. 6 incursion.
The partisan panel recommended that President Joe Biden’s Justice Department bring criminal charges against Trump and associates who helped him in his election fight.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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