Former US Vice President Mike Pence speaks in Phoenix, Arizona, on June 13. Matt York / Associated Press
Mike Pence will not testify at the committee’s hearing on Thursday, January 6. But he will be in the spotlight as the focus shifts to former President Donald Trump’s desperate and futile attempts to persuade his vice president to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and secure a second term.
“As you will hear, President Trump is making a relentless effort to put pressure on Pence, both in private and in public,” said Liz Cheney, a leading Republican in the committee, last week. “Vice President Pence has consistently demonstrated his loyalty to Donald Trump for four years, but he knew he had a higher debt to the United States Constitution.
What we know about Pence’s actions before and during this day:
Under pressure
As Trump’s frantic efforts to prevent defeat were overturned by courts and government officials, he and his allies headed to Jan. 6, the day a joint session of Congress will be convened to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. last chance to stay in power.
The campaign of heavy pressure intensified in the days before 6, when Trump, lawyer John Eastman and others in Trump’s orbit tried to convince Pence that he had the power to undo the will of voters in a handful of critical states on the battlefield by simply rejecting on the votes of the Electoral College or sending the results back to the states – although the Constitution clarifies that the role of the Vice President in the proceedings is largely ceremonial.
Pence spent hours cuddling with staff, including his chief adviser, Greg Jacob. He studied the Census of Elections Act 1887, which governed the procedures, and met with the Senate MP to understand his role. He also received outside advisers, including from former Vice President Dan Quayle.
Some aides have called on Trump not to put his staunchly loyal vice president in such a precarious position. Pence was already widely seen as a potential future presidential candidate, and the public rift with Trump was seen as a potential end to his career. But Trump continued to insist, both in public and behind the scenes.
On Monday, January 4, Eastman and Trump pressured Pence to agree to a plan for a meeting in the Oval Office. And at a rally in Georgia that night, Trump said his fate was in the hands of his vice president. “I hope Mike Pence comes in our place,” he told the crowd.
Trump continued to insist on a meeting in the Oval Office the next day, where he again called on Pence to use powers the vice president does not have to undo the will of the electorate. Then Pence made it clear that he was not convinced.
The other day, Jacob sent a note outlining his conclusion that if Pence followed Eastman’s proposal, he would likely lose in court at best or cause a constitutional crisis, Politico reported first. Tensions were so high that Pence Chief of Staff Mark Short called Pence’s top secret service agent that day, the New York Times reported for the first time, informing him that the vice president’s refusal to agree to Trump was way to become public. .
“Hook Mike Pence”
The pressure continued through the night. “If Vice President Mike-Pence comes in our place, we will win the presidency,” Trump tweeted at about 1 p.m.
“All Mike Pence has to do is send them back to the United States AND WE WIN,” he wrote later that morning. “Do it, Mike, it’s time for great courage!”
Pence was at his residence at the Naval Observatory on the morning of January 6 when he spoke for the last time with Trump, who was joined in the Oval Office by his daughter Ivanka and Pence National Security Adviser Keith Kellogg. During the 11 a.m. conversation, Trump scolded Pence, telling him he was not tough enough to comply with the scheme, according to Kellogg’s testimony before the commission.
Pence then headed to the Capitol to observe the vote count, which would formalize Trump’s defeat.
But first, Pence officially announced what his aides had already clarified. In a letter to his colleagues in Congress, Pence explained why he could not agree to Trump’s plan.
“My thoughtful judgment is that my oath to support and defend the Constitution prevents me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which votes should be counted and which should not,” he wrote.
At 1:03 p.m., he officially gave in to a U.S. Senate meeting as pro-Trump rebels who had already broken the Capitol barricades were outside and clashed with police.
By this time, Trump was nearing the end of his speech on Ellipse, in which he repeatedly turned to Pence and called on his supporters to “fight like hell.”
“If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election,” Trump said falsely to the crowd. “All Vice Vice President Pence has to do is send him back to the states for re-certification and we will become president, and you are the happiest people.
Outside the Capitol, the scene turned into violent chaos when rebels, some armed with trumpets, bats and bear spray, stormed the Capitol, quickly seizing police. One officer was beaten and repeatedly shocked with a stunning pistol until he suffered a heart attack. Another was foaming at the mouth and screaming for help as the rebels crushed him between two doors and hit him in the head with his own weapon. At 1:49 p.m., police officially declared a riot.
Around 2:12 p.m., Pence was thrown off the Senate floor as the rebels stormed inside. The Washington Post first reported that Pence, who was joined that day by his wife and daughter, was at one point less than 100 feet from a group of protesters.
In hiding
Pence spent the next few hours in hiding with his staff and family, first in his ceremonial office and then in an underground loading dock in the Capitol complex. At least twice, he rejected requests from security officials to leave the building, insisting it was crucial that he stay in place.
But even when the horror was played live on television, Trump, instead of urging his supporters to go home, Pence exploded.
“Mike Pence did not have the courage to do what needed to be done to protect our country and our constitution, giving states a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, rather than the fraudulent or inaccurate ones previously asked to prove.” “Trump tweets at 2:24 p.m.” The United States demands the truth! Trump’s tweet echoed through the angry crowd. Footage from the commission shows rebels reading Trump’s words aloud and crowds crashing into the chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” An improvised gallows was photographed outside.
The committee claims that Trump was informed of the chanting and responded with this feeling: “Maybe our supporters have the right idea.” Mike Pence “deserves it,” Cheney said.
“Let’s go back to work”
At 8 p.m., after hours of fear and carnage, the Capitol was finally deemed defensive, and Pence convened the Senate again with a message.
“Today has been a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol. But thanks to the swift efforts of U.S. Capitol police, federal, state, and local law enforcement, the violence has been put down. The Capitol is safe. And the work of the people continues, “he told the nation. “Let’s go back to work,” he said with applause.
Shortly after 3:40 a.m., Pence officially announced Trump’s electoral defeat – as well as his own.
In a video statement aired Monday, former Donald Trump Attorney General William Barr flatly denied allegations of election fraud, saying at a meeting on December 14, 2020: “I was somewhat demoralized because I thought I was a boy, if I really believe that which he has .. he is detached from reality.
Reuters
Our morning and evening newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a brief summary of the most important headlines of the day. Register today.
Add Comment