Former Vice President Mike Pence must testify in special counsel Jack Smith’s probe of former President Donald Trump‘s 2020 election overturn effort, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
Federal Judge James E. Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, issued his ruling in Washington on Tuesday.
Pence had fought a subpoena seeking testimony. His lawyers invoked the Constitution’s ‘speech or debate’ clause, pointing to his ceremonial role as Senate vice president.
Trump publicly and privately demanded Pence refuse to accept votes certified by states when Congress met to count the electoral votes on January 6, 2021.
Pence is set to campaign in Iowa on Wednesday as he considers a run for the White House. Trump, seeking to get back to the White House, wrote that Pence lacked ‘courage’ on January 6.
Pence criticized his boss at a swanky dinner in D.C. last month.
Former Vice President Mike Pence must testify in special counsel Jack Smith’s probe of former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election overturn effort, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
The judge, who recently succeeded Judge Beryl Howell as chief judge, did include some nuance in the ruling, NBC News reported, allowing Pence limited protections due to his legislative role. (Lawmakers also often invoke it for protections related to their official duties and statements).
Those limitations wouldn’t apply to alleged ‘illegality’ by the former president.
Several defendants who had a role on January 6 have been convicted on ‘seditious conspiracy’ charges, and hundreds have been charged with offenses related to the attack on the Capitol, which came as Congress met to count the electoral votes.
