Pence spokesman says document showing FEC ‘filing’ is fake

Presidential campaign paperwork purporting to be from former Vice President Mike Pence is fake, according to a spokesman.

Devin O’Malley, who served as press secretary to Pence while in the White House, wrote on Twitter that a Federal Elections Commission (FEC) statement of candidacy for “Mr. Mike Richard Pence” does not actually belong to Pence.

“Former Vice President Mike Pence did not file to run for President today,” O’Malley wrote.

The filing, which was made on Monday, lists a principal campaign committee titled “Mike Pence for President” and a P.O. box in Anderson, Ind., Pence’s home state.

The former vice president has acknowledged that he is mulling a 2024 White House bid, but he indicated he will make a decision after discussing a potential campaign with his family during the holidays.

“I didn’t have it on my Bingo card for ANY of the days between Christmas and New Year considering Pence has been saying that if there was an announcement to be made, it would made in 2023!” O’Malley wrote.

An FEC spokesperson declined to comment on the specific filing but indicated the commission has a verification process to authenticate filings after they are made.

Pence is one of multiple Republicans seen as potentially considering a primary challenge to former President Trump, the only prominent Republican to enter the 2024 race.

Pence, who has broken with his former running mate over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, has suggested there will be better choices than Trump in the GOP primary, although he has not yet made a formal campaign announcement.

This story was updated at 8:41 a.m.