According to an unnamed source who spoke to the Associated Press, Pence has been summoned as part of continuing investigations into Donald Trump.
According to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, former US Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel in charge of the investigations into attempts by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to annul the results of the 2020 election.
The individual, who talked to The Associated Press on Thursday under the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, said that the subpoena to Pence was recently served as a part of the investigation by special counsel Jack Smith.
As Pence considers challenging Trump for the presidency in 2024, the unique possibility of a former vice president potentially testifying against his former boss in a criminal probe arises. The two haven’t spoken since a crowd of Trump backers stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, trying to thwart Democrat Joe Biden’s win.
The summons was initially covered by ABC News. Trump’s plans to retain power beyond the 2020 election failed, and Pence was at the center of those efforts. Trump erroneously maintained that Pence, who presided over the certification of the election on January 6, had the authority to outright reject the results and “send them back to the states.”
On that day, when Pence presided over the certification of Biden’s victory, a group of Trump supporters marched to the Capitol building, forcibly pushed past the police, and broke through the windows and doors. They were motivated by the notion that the 2020 election had been rigged.
Some of the mob shouted, “Hang Mike Pence!” as the vice president was guided to safety together with his staff and family. Smith, a former public corruption prosecutor, was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November to serve as the special counsel for investigations into Trump’s attempts to overturn his defeat, his actions leading up to the Capitol insurrection on January 6, and his possession of classified documents after leaving office.
Federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas to numerous state Republican party chairs in order to gather evidence regarding a plan by Trump backers to promote phony presidential electors in crucial battleground states won by Biden in an effort to rig the election.
Numerous members of the Trump administration have been called before the grand jury by federal prosecutors for questioning, including Pat Cipollone, the former attorney for the Trump White House, and Marc Short, Pence’s former chief of staff.
Election authorities in several states whose results Trump contested have received subpoenas requesting contacts with or involving Trump and his campaign staffers, which is a hint that the inquiry is spreading.
A US House of Representatives committee looking into the attack on January 6 advised the Justice Department to file criminal charges against Trump and his aides who assisted him in starting a campaign of pressure to try to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.
