Former President Donald J. A federal judge has ordered former Vice President Mike Pence to appear before a grand jury investigating Trump’s efforts. The testimony, according to two people familiar with the matter.
On Monday, Judge James E. The double verdicts given by Bosberg, Mr. The latest setbacks were a bid by Trump’s legal team to allow prosecutors to ask witnesses close to him in separate hearings. Attempts to retain power after his election defeat and handling of classified documents after he left office.
In the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by pro-Trump mobs, Mr. Mr. Trump has called on Trump to use his ceremonial role of overseeing the counting of Congressional Electoral College votes to block or delay his certification. Pence insisted again and again. failure
Mr. Thoroughly documented by Pence’s aides, Mr. Mr. Trump asked to testify about Trump’s demands. Lawyers are trying to persuade Pence. It is.
This month, Mr. Trump’s attorneys said the court’s predecessor, Judge Bosberg, Beryl A. Howell said some issues are off-limits because of an executive privilege that protects certain communications between the president and Mr. They asked to limit Pence’s testimony. Some members of his administration.
At the same time, Mr. Pence’s lawyers have asked to limit his testimony, arguing that his role as Senate president means he is protected from legal scrutiny by the executive branch — including the judiciary — under the constitution’s “speech or debate.” ” Clause. That provision is intended to protect the separation of powers.
Mr. insisting on administrative privilege. While Judge Bosberg issued a clear ruling against Trump’s efforts, her ruling on the “speech or debate” clause was more nuanced, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Understand the events of January 6
Based on his role in supervising the certification of the January 6 election at the Capitol, The judge upheld the idea that Pence had some protection under “speech or discussion.” Mr. A person familiar with the matter told the panel of illegal actions by Trump.
Mr. People close to Pence have said for weeks that he expected to testify before a grand jury. Justice Department late last year Mr. The New York Times reported that they were trying to get an interview with Pence.
Mr. A week after Judge Howell ruled that half a dozen former Trump administration officials — including Trump’s final chief of staff, Mark Meadows — could not waive executive privilege, Mr. Judge Bosberg’s ruling on Pence has arrived. Changing the election Mr. He testified before a grand jury investigating Trump’s efforts.
How Times reporters see politics We trust our journalists to be independent observers. So when Times employees vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money or raising money for any political candidate or election cause.
Judge Howell’s ruling on March 17, when he stepped down as Chief Justice, Mr. Paved the way for Meadows’ grand jury testimony; One of his deputies, Don Scavino; Robert C. O’Brien, who served as National Security Adviser; John Radcliffe, former Director of National Intelligence; and Stephen Miller, Mr. One of Trump’s speechwriters and top advisers.
Mr. Trump and some witnesses in the election trial have spent months trying to limit the scope of grand jury testimony, sparking a behind-the-scenes fight that — like all issues involving grand juries — has been sealed in court filings and closed-door hearings.
Mr. Pence was one of the last major witnesses to litigate the limits of his grand jury testimony. Two of his closest aides — Mark Short and Greg Jacob — were ordered to appear before a grand jury last year, Mr. Two top attorneys in Trump’s White House, Pat A. Cipollone and Patrick F. Philbin.
In one of his final acts as Chief Justice, Judge Howell made a similar ruling in the classified documents hearing. Mr. Trump’s lawyer M. Evan Corcoran, Mr. Although he asserted attorney-client privilege on behalf of Trump, he was ordered to testify before the grand jury conducting the investigation.
In making his decision, Judge Howell said special counsel Jack Smith found that the prosecutors overseeing the two grand jury trials had met a threshold known as the felony-fraud exception. It allows lawyers to work around the client-client privilege if they have reason to believe that legal advice or services were used to further a crime.
Mr. In a federal investigation into Trump’s efforts to stay in office, Jan. On 6 Mr. Given the key role he played in refusing to comply with Trump’s demands and the conversations he participated in, Mr. Pence has always been an important witness. At the White House in the weeks before the riots.
Both publicly and privately, Joseph R. Mr. Biden was asked to participate in the plan to reject the Electoral College victory certificate. Mr. Trump Tried to pressure Pence.
On January 6th, Mr. Emphasizing Pence is part of a plan by Mr. Trump supporters. Biden won. The special counsel overseeing the Justice Department’s Trump investigations, Mr. The voters program is under scrutiny by federal prosecutors as part of an investigation led by Smith.
Between November 5, 2020 and January 6, Mr. Mr. Pence is outside the government. Trump’s associates, John Eastman, a lawyer working with the president, and Mr. himself. At that time, Mr. Mr. Pence checked with his counsel what his powers were in regard to Jan. 6, and then, as time went on, Mr. Trump clarified.
Mr. In addition to highlighting Trump’s role, Mr. Including Eastman, Mr. Mr. Pence’s testimony could be crucial.
By January 5, Mr. As Trump’s efforts have gotten more serious, Mr. Benz’s CEO, Mr. Short called the Vice President’s chief Secret Service agent into his West Wing office and asked Mr. Trump told him he was going to run. Mr. Benz, so they could be a security risk.
The next day, Mr. When Trump addressed a pro-Trump rally at the Ellipse near the White House, Mr. He publicly pressured Pence. Later, he urged his supporters to march “peacefully” and “patriotically” to the Capitol. Once there, hundreds surrounded the building, some chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” They chanted.
Mr. Pence, considering his own presidential campaign, released a memoir in which he recounts some of the conversations that investigators would be interested in having in a closed-door setting.
