Pence Refuses to Rule Out Being a Witness for the Prosecution – 'I Cannot Wait to Cross-Examine,' Trump's Lawyer Says
Former Vice President Mike Pence may not be willing to escalate the bubbling feud between him and his former superior — but he’s not exactly ruling it out either.
During a wide-ranging interview on CBS program “Face the Nation,” Pence was eventually asked about the ongoing legal woes of former President Donald Trump.
The former president is facing three separate indictments and a slew of criminal charges associated with them.
Unsurprisingly, the fact that a former president (and chief political rival of the incumbent president) is set to go on trial has drawn all sorts of attention, and Pence was naturally asked about it during the CBS interview, which you can watch in full below:
“Mr. Vice President, if this case comes to trial, would you be a witness against the president?” CBS host Major Garrett asked Pence.
“Well, I will tell you, you know, I didn’t want anything to do with the January 6 committee,” Pence said. “That was a partisan committee on Capitol Hill, Major, and it seemed to me to be just politics, uh, from the very start.”
After criticizing Nancy Pelosi’s handling of putting that committee together, and generally distancing himself from those aforementioned Trump indictments, Pence stopped just short of definitively saying “No,” he won’t be a witness against Trump.
“I have no plans to testify,” Pence said. “But people can be confident we’ll, uh, we’ll obey the law. We’ll respond to the call of the law if it comes, and we’ll just tell them the truth.”
For Pence, further alienating Trump supporters may not be a wise path for someone with 2024 presidential aspirations.
This CBS interview comes on the heels of the former vice president campaigning in New Hampshire.
The reception he received in the Granite State was about as warm as granite on Friday.
Hecklers accosted Pence during a stop in Londonderry, New Hampshire, accusing the former vice president of selling out the American people and not upholding the Constitution:
A dozen Trump supporters approached Mike Pence’s vehicle as he entered his Friday event yelling, “that’s a traitor,” “you’re a sellout,” and “why didn’t you uphold the constitution?”
“I upheld the constitution,” Pence shouted back.
As they badgered him he yelled, “Read it!” pic.twitter.com/gKpeB2mntO
— Kelsey Walsh (@Kjwalsh_news) August 5, 2023
Things have grown increasingly frosty between Trump and Pence since they’ve collectively left the White House following the 2020 general election.
While the two seemingly had an amicable split in the immediate aftermath of that election, things have gotten increasingly more awkward and frosty with each successive indictment brought against Trump.
After the third indictment, which many of Trump’s most ardent supporters feel are being weaponized against him, Pence all but came out and said that Trump isn’t fit to serve as president.
Before that, Pence remarked that Trump “endangered” the life of him and his family through his actions during Jan. 6, 2021.
While Pence and Trump may have always been headed for a nasty divorce, there’s also the significant fact that Pence’s increasing reticence towards Trump comes as Pence aims to secure the 2024 GOP presidential nomination for himself.
And Pence has quite a bit of work to do in that regard. According to RealClearPolitics, Trump is holding onto a major polling lead at 53.7 percent.
Pence, meanwhile, is technically in fourth place according to RealClearPolitics, but with a cavernous gulf between his 5.1 percent and Trump’s commanding figure.
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