The former VP says the panel “has no right” to his testimony.”
QUICK FACTS:
- Former Vice President Mike Pence has said that he will not testify before the House of Representatives panel probing the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riots.
- The former vice president said Congress “has no right to my testimony” after being asked about whether he would come before the committee.
- Pence made his comments in an interview with CBS News, during which he said it would establish a “terrible precedent for the Congress to summon a vice president of the United States to speak about deliberations that took place at the White House.”
- The former Indiana governor confirmed that he would not participate willingly in the committee proceedings.
THE COMMITTEE’S CONCERN WITH PENCE:
- While Pence denies the committee’s authority, the House panel has not been entirely unfriendly to Pence’s actions on the day of the Capitol Hill riots.
- The House panel has emphasized Pence’s refusal to support former President Donald Trump’s efforts to reverse his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election during high-profile hearings.
- Pence also voiced concern that every member of the committee was appointed by one party.
BACKGROUND:
- Pence made headlines when he declined to say whether he would vote for his previous running mate, former President Donald Trump, in 2024.
- “Well, there might be somebody else I prefer more,” Pence said, dodging the question put to him during an appearance at Georgetown University, as American Faith previously reported.
- The longtime Republican circled his comments back to his support for the GOP saying, “What I can tell you is I have every confidence that the Republican Party is going to sort out leadership.”
