Mike Pence still defends Donald Trump in the public eye, but he seems to be done attempting to dodge questions from law enforcement at the federal level.
He says that he will never diminish the wrongness of the violence that took place on January 6th and that he will not fight the order to speak to the Justice Department about the former president’s role.
Pence initially argued that his role of leading Congress in the January 6th proceedings meant that he could not be required to testify about the events of that day.
A Constitutional rule conferring a certain amount of immunity for members of Congress with regard to actions carried out in their official roles has been broadly interpreted in the past, and it’s on this that Pence relied upon for his objections.
However, a judge has disagreed, and Pence says he won’t fight the order further, despite previously declaring that he was willing to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
His decision to comply with the order marks a significant shift.
What isn’t yet clear is precisely when he will sit down with investigators to give his testimony, or exactly what he’ll be expected to answer, although it’s already clear there will be limits.
In a ruling last month, Judge James Boasberg said that Pence would not be required to answer questions specifically pertaining to January 6th, the date when he served in his role as President of the Senate, POLITICO now reports:
“Vice President Pence will not appeal the Judge’s ruling and will comply with the subpoena as required by law,” spokesman Devin O’Malley said Wednesday in a statement.