Former Vice President Mike Pence must testify in the investigation into Donald Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol storming. Pence must disclose his conversations with Trump in the run-up to the storming before an investigative jury, a US federal judge ruled on Tuesday according to CNN and AP news agency. The United States Justice Department is investigating former President Trump’s attempts to undermine the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
According to CNN sources, it is possible that Pence will still refuse to answer questions. Pence would not have to answer to the jury for what he himself did the day Trump supporters forcibly entered the Capitol. Pence and Trump did not see each other that January 6, but are said to have had a “heated” phone conversation. The conversations between the two in the days surrounding the uprising are of great importance in the investigation.
Pence had to formally endorse Joe Biden’s election victory on the day of the storm as president of the Senate. Trump lied that day that Pence could still reverse the result in this role. When a mob of Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol in Washington, they chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” among other things.
Former Vice President Pence earlier this month criticized his former political boss’s inciting role in the run-up to the storming. “President Trump was wrong,” he said, adding that the former president put him and his family at risk. Pence’s team would evaluate whether to appeal the subpoena.
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