Pence claims he doesn’t know if Trump committed any crime on Jan. 6
Asher Notheis
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Former Vice President Mike Pence says he doesn’t know if former President Donald Trump committed any crime on Jan. 6, when the Capitol protests happened.
Pence’s statement comes a day after Trump was indicted a third time over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. When asked if Trump had committed a crime on Jan. 6, Pence said he does not know “the full case” that the government has.
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Mike Pence Fox News (8/2/2023)
“I think I’ve said on your network many times that I don’t know if taking bad advice from lawyers is a crime,” Pence said during an interview with Fox News. “But you know I would leave that legal process, and frankly the profound issues about the First Amendment, to the courts to sort that out. But I think it’s important that the American people know what happened in the days before Jan. 6.”
Pence also expressed the importance for the Republican Party to nominate a candidate in 2024 who is not Trump because nominating Trump again would only keep the discussion revolving around the Capitol protest on Jan. 6.
“I think the American people, like I did here at the Indiana state fair, want us talking about the problems they’re facing, and bringing solutions to restoring security and prosperity to American families and all of the American people,” Pence said.
In regards to the Republican National Convention debate, scheduled for Aug. 23, Pence predicted that sometime between “the next week to 10 days,” he will have enough support to qualify for the first debate. So far, the candidates reported to have qualified for the first debate this month are Trump, Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
“We’ve been averaging about a thousand contributions a day, with stronger frankly over the weekend,” Pence said. “But again, I’m very humbled by the outpouring of support. We’re not using gimmicks. We’re just putting our record out there.”
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Trump has been ordered to appear in a Washington district court on Thursday over the recent indictment. About the former president’s latest indictment, 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.
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.”