Former Vice President Mike Pence said on Jan. 7 that he doesn’t believe the events of Jan. 6, 2021, were an “insurrection” nor does he think former President Donald Trump should be prevented from appearing on state ballots.
“I have never called what happened on January 6 an ‘insurrection,’” Mr. Pence said in the interview. “I was there. It was a riot, the way it broke out, and I have never seen it any other way.”
President Trump held a rally near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, in which he made statements encouraging his supporters to march to the Capitol, where Congress was certifying the results of the presidential election.
Even though he said in his Jan. 6 speech that protesters should “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” his critics have seized on a portion of his remarks in which he said, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore” as a call for violence.
Labeling the violent confrontation with police on that day as an “insurrection” has been at the heart of efforts to block President Trump from appearing on state ballots. His detractors cite Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, a post-Civil War provision that prohibits people from running from office if they engaged in an “insurrection.”
No ‘Insurrection’ Charges
In his CNN interview, Mr. Pence said he not only opposes labeling the Jan. 6 events as an insurrection but also pointed out that President Trump hasn’t been charged with insurrection in any of his cases.“And while I said that the president’s words were reckless—and I believe that history and the American people will hold him ultimately to account for his role in that day—I think these efforts to take the decision away from the American people are really antithetical to the very democracy that President Biden and many Democrats talk about wanting to defend,” Mr. Pence said.
“I’m very confident that the American people will choose wisely. I’m confident that we'll run our elections. But removing the former president or any other candidate from the choice of the American people, I don’t believe, is in the interests of the country.
“And I have reason to be confident that the Supreme Court of the United States will see it that way,” he added.
Special counsel Jack Smith has charged Mr. Trump with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding—the certification of the electoral vote—and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.
‘Our Best Witness’
In his appearance on CBS, Mr. Lauro said he believes Mr. Pence “will be our best witness” whose testimony could prove that Mr. Trump genuinely believed he was robbed of victory in 2020 and followed expert legal advice in seeking to challenge the results with no criminal intent to his actions.“The reason why Vice President Pence will be so important to the defense is … number one, he agrees that John Eastman, who gave legal advice to President Trump, was an esteemed legal scholar,” Mr. Lauro told the outlet.
“Number two, he agrees that there were election irregularities, fraud, unlawful actions at the state level. All of that will eviscerate any allegation of criminal intent on the part of President Trump,” he added.
Mr. Lauro added that Mr. Pence believed doubts around the 2020 election were legitimate enough to warrant debate during the proceedings on Jan. 6, 2021, when lawmakers assembled on Capitol Hill to certify the Electoral College vote.
Ahead of the events of Jan. 6, 2021, Mr. Pence’s chief of staff said that the former vice president welcomed an effort by some lawmakers to raise objections that day as Congress convened to certify the electoral votes.
“Vice President Pence shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities in the last election,” said Marc Short, who was then Mr. Pence’s chief of staff, in a statement on Jan. 2, 2021.
