Department of Justice prosecutors are looking to question former Vice President Mike Pence as part of the department’s probe into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and former President Trump’s efforts to stay in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election, according to reports.
Prosecutors have reached out to Pence’s team in hopes of speaking with the former vice president about what he may have witnessed as Trump and his allies worked to intervene in the transfer of power to President Biden, according to a new report from The New York Times.
The DOJ’s criminal investigation into Trump and the Capitol riot is separate from the House select committee on Jan. 6, which lacks the DOJ’s legal power — and which Pence has knocked as “partisan.”
“Congress has no right to my testimony. … I believe it would establish a terrible precedent for the Congress to summon a vice president of the United States to speak about deliberations that took place at the White House,” the former vice president said last week.
The New York Times and CNN reported Pence may be considering the DOJ’s request despite his reticence to respond to the House panel.
A Pence spokesperson had no comment on the reports. The Hill has reached out to the DOJ for comment.
Pence and Trump drifted apart after leaving the White House, and Pence has openly discussed the pressure Trump put him under to intervene in the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.
Trump announced earlier this month that he’ll mount a third bid for the White House in 2024, but Pence is also a rumored potential candidate for the GOP — and Pence has sidestepped on whether he thinks Trump should lead the nation again.
Trump said last month it would be “very disloyal” if Pence or other former Trump administration Cabinet members ran in 2024.