On the third day of the public hearings of the US Parliamentary Committee investigating the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, two witnesses spoke out to clarify the role of Vice President Mike Pence. He declined to join Donald Trump’s bid to change the outcome of the 2020 election.
As vice president, Pence chaired the joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives on Jan. 6 that officially determined the election results. According to Trump, Pence could have stopped that. Trump came up with that idea through two of his lawyers: John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani.
But Thursday’s hearing revealed that even Eastman and Giuliani didn’t really believe it was legally possible for Pence to delay or change the ratification of the results, The Washington Post writes. Pence’s advisers testified about discussions they had with both lawyers about it. An email from Eastman was also shown asking to be preemptively put on a pardon, suggesting, according to the inquiry, that Eastman knew he was doing something illegal.
The commission also showed a video recording of testimony from Greg Jacob, a key adviser to Pence. In the video, Jacob said he helped Pence articulate his decision not to block ratification on January 6. According to Pence, those words would be “the most important thing I ever say,” Pence told Jacob.
The seven Democrats on the parliamentary committee on Thursday had nothing but praise for Pence’s decision. “We’re lucky with Pence’s bravery,” said committee chair Bennie Thompson. “On January 6, our democracy came dangerously close to catastrophe. When Mike Pence indicated that he would not participate in Donald Trump’s game, it put him personally in great danger.”
When the Capitol was stormed, Mike Pence had to be brought to safety, as the assailants chanted that Pence was a traitor and should be hanged.