The targets of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot are getting closer to former President Donald Trump himself. Now, committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) has stated that he’d like to directly hear from former Vice President Mike Pence, who could provide critical firsthand accounts of efforts by the then-president and his allies to block the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. Pence faced pressure to block the Congressional certification of the election results in his role overseeing the certification proceedings, although he didn’t actually possess the legally recognized power to undertake such a move — but that didn’t stop Trump and others from trying to make the case that he did.
Schumer: “If you have any doubt, where Donald Trump wants this country to go, look at who he endorsed yesterday: Orban. A dictator who is infringing on democracy in Hungary."
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 4, 2022
Thompson told CNN that he “would hope that [Pence] would do the right thing and come forward and voluntarily talk to the committee… We have not formally asked. But if he offered, we’d gladly accept. Everything is under consideration.” The chairman added as follows, discussing the riot-associated threats to Pence:
‘His life was at risk. There were people who had gallows erected on the lawn of the Capitol ostensibly to hang the vice president. There were people on them threatening the life of the vice president. The vice president could not leave the Capitol of the United States because of the riot. He was sequestered in an area in the Capitol. So his life was in danger.’
Senator McConnell: “Former President Trump’s actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty. There’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.”
— Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) January 5, 2022
Thompson explained that specific points of interest for the committee include “what [Pence’s] security detail told him was going on.” It’s unclear whether Pence would be willing to speak with the riot investigation committee, although ex-aides associated with the vice president including his former chief of staff, Marc Short, have been among those who have already spoken with committee investigators. In all, the panel has heard from over 300 individuals and counting, with public hearings under development for the near future, although it’s not immediately clear which individuals might end up appearing at those hearings as witnesses.
Guardian US: Jan. 6 committee is expecting a breakthrough with the Supreme Court, which experts believe will ensure the panel can access Trump White House records over the former president’s objections.
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) January 4, 2022
It’s worth noting that Trump has explicitly defended the chants of “Hang Mike Pence!” that rang out at the Capitol during the violence there last January — so although the whole situation was obviously long since damaging enough, not even threats to his former second-in-command appear to be enough to faze Trump. Asked specifically about the chants targeting Pence, Trump ranted about the then-VP’s role overseeing the election outcome certification process, saying: “It’s common sense that you’re supposed to protect. How can you — if you know a vote is fraudulent, right? — how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress? How can you do that?” The results weren’t fraudulent.
January 6th wasn't merely a senseless act of mob violence.
It was a violent attempt to reverse our election.
The root cause: Trump’s Big Lie that continues to make our democracy less safe.
The Senate will move forward to protect our democracy and cure America of the Big Lie.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 5, 2022
