Global Courant 2023-04-28 03:47:01
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared Thursday before the federal grand jury convened as part of the special counsel investigation into former President Donald Trump’s efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss and stay in power, according to a source known is with the case.
The testimony is an important development in the special counsel’s investigation, as Pence could provide critical insights into Trump’s thinking in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The former vice president published a memoir and an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. article describing several of his interactions with Trump, but some details were left vague. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team is particularly interested in Trump’s attempts to block the election’s certification, NBC News previously reported.
Pence’s appearance came during a heightened security presence at the federal courthouse in Washington on Thursday. NBC News saw several black SUVs with tinted windows pull into the parking garage in the morning. Two black SUVs entered the courthouse garage around 9 a.m., an entrance that allowed witnesses to go to the third-floor grand jury chambers without being seen in the public areas of the courthouse.
The SUVs left the courthouse around 4:30 p.m
When reporters asked Chief Judge James Boasberg, who oversees grand jury proceedings, what was going on, he objected.
A spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment.
Last month, a federal judge ordered Pence to comply with a subpoena to testify and Trump failed in an attempt to block his former vice president’s testimony. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court rejected Trump’s appeal.
Asked about Pence’s testimony on Thursday, Trump told NBC News, “I don’t know what he said, but I have a lot of faith in him.” Trump was in Manchester, NH, for a campaign event.
Pence’s testimony came as five members of the Proud Boys — the far-right group Trump had said would “stand back and stand by” for the 2020 election — awaited a jury verdict in an incendiary conspiracy trial. During the closing arguments, an attorney for former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio argued that the federal government was trying to make Tarrio a “scapegoat” for Trump, blaming the former president for the attack on the Capitol.
In Pence’s attempt not to testify, his team had argued—partially successfully—that he was protected by the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, which states that legislators cannot be compelled to testify about legislative activity. His team said the clause should apply to him because he was acting in his role as Senate President as Jan. 6 unfolded.
The federal judge ruled that while the speech or debate clause gave Pence limited protection, it did not prevent him from testifying about Trump’s alleged illegal conduct.
Smith subpoenaed Pence in February. Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November to lead the DOJ investigation into the former president’s Jan. 6 role and his handling of classified documents after Trump announced his 2024 presidential run.
In a Newsmax interview Last month, Pence insisted he has nothing to hide.
“I believe we did our duty that day under the Constitution of the United States, and in this matter I felt it was important that we stand on that constitutional principle again,” Pence said in the interview. “But we are currently in discussion with our lawyers about the right way forward.”
Pence has previously broken with his former running mate over the January 6 uprising.
“President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the election,” Pence said at the Gridiron Dinner for politicians and journalists in March. “And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone in the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
Jonathan Allen and Megan Lebowitz contributed.
