The U.S. Department of Justice has contacted representatives of former Vice President Mike Pence to request his testimony in the criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s role during the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on Capitol Hill.
Sources related to the matter have confirmed to CNN that Pence, ‘number two’ during the Trump Administration, would be willing to reach an agreement with the Justice Department and thus provide his testimony.
This request from Justice would have been made before the appointment of Jack Smith as special prosecutor for the supervision of investigations into Trump, one of them precisely for his role on that day in January in which his supporters tried to stop the transfer of powers to the president-elect, Joe Biden.
At the moment, it is unclear how this decision by the Justice Department may affect, if at all, Pence’s alleged willingness to cooperate with the case. Neither the former vice president nor the Department in question has yet to comment.
The former vice president recently recounted that Trump reproached him for his opposition to a plan to cast doubt on the 2020 election results and told them he would be remembered as «a coward,» according to an excerpt from his new book.
However, these reports contrast with the latest statements by Pence, who, while calling the assault on the Capitol «the most difficult day» of his public life, rejected the possibility of testifying before the House committee investigating the insurrection.
It is true that Pence has recently revealed that the former president even criticized him for being «too honest» during those days in which the tycoon and his followers were questioning Biden’s electoral triumph.