In this image from video released by the House Select Committee, Vice President Mike Pence looks at a phone from his safe evacuation site on January 6, which is displayed while the House Select Committee is investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol investigating will hold a hearing on Thursday, June 16, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
House Select Committee | AP
Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating ex-President Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and the events that led to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, NBC News confirmed on Thursday evening.
Pence, who served under Trump, was pressured by him to refuse to accept the certifications from several states’ electoral college slates that gave President Joe Biden his lead in that race.
Pence disagreed with Trump’s request while chairing a joint session of Congress that confirmed Biden’s victory.
That joint session on Jan. 6, 2021, was interrupted for hours by a mob of Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol, sending Pence and members of Congress to flee to hide from the intruders. For hours, Trump refused to comply with calls to publicly ask his supporters to leave the Capitol.
ABC News first reported that Special Counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed Pence. ABC also reported that the subpoena was issued after months of negotiations between federal prosecutors and Pence’s legal team.
It wasn’t clear if Smith was looking for Pence’s testimony, documents, or both.
Spokesmen for both Pence and Smith declined to comment on the subpoena.
Smith previously issued a subpoena to request documents from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whom Trump pressured in early 2021 to “find” him enough votes in that state to overcome his electoral deficit to Biden there.
NBC reported in December that officials in swing states have received subpoenas from Smith for communicating with Trump, his campaign, and aides and allies involved in attempts to overturn Biden’s victory.
Smith is also investigating Trump for removing White House documents, many classified as classified, and sending them to his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., where he has lived since leaving office .
Smith was appointed special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland after Trump declared his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
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