Donald Trump indictment: Pence says ‘I chose the Constitution’ on Jan. 6
Mabinty Quarshie
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Former Vice President Mike Pence didn’t mince any words in his reaction to former President Donald Trump, his onetime boss and current 2024 rival, being indicted a third time on Tuesday over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
“Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States,” Pence said in a statement Tuesday evening. “I will have more to say about the government’s case after reviewing the indictment. The former president is entitled to the presumption of innocence but with this indictment, his candidacy means more talk about January 6th and more distractions.”
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Pence claimed that Trump’s latest legal woes were a distraction from Republicans attacking President Joe Biden‘s “disastrous economic policies afflicting millions across the United States and to the pattern of corruption with Hunter” as Biden seeks reelection. The former vice president had recently released a four-part economic plan to fight inflation, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Trump’s chief rival, unveiled his own 10-point plan economic plan on Monday. But with Trump’s latest indictment, it’s all but guaranteed to be overlooked in the news cycle.
Trump faces one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, one count of obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and one count of conspiracy against rights. However, Pence urged the nation not to be swallowed up by Trump’s media circus but instead focus on restoring civility in public life. “Our country is more important than one man. Our constitution is more important than any one man’s career,” he said.
Pence himself is repeatedly mentioned in the 45-page indictment, which notes that he told Trump “that he had seen no evidence of outcome-determinative fraud.”
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The former vice president pointed to his own resistance against Trump’s pressuring him not to certify the electoral results after it was clear that Trump had lost the 2020 election to Biden.
“On January 6th, Former President Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution. I chose the Constitution and I always will,” Pence said. “As your president, I will not yield an inch in defending America, our people, or our values, and I promise you: I will do so in a way consistent with my oath to the Constitution and the character and decency of the American people.”