Pence says 'no plans to testify' against Trump but will 'obey the law'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
6 Aug 2023 18:29

Former vice president Mike Pence, currently running for the 2024 presidential elections, says he is confident he did his duty regardless of what the outcome of the indictment of former US President Donald Trump.

Then Vice President Mike Pence speaks alongside then President Donald Trump during a coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington on March 22, 2020. (AP)

Mike Pence, former US Vice President and current Presidential candidate, told CBS correspondent Major Garrett in an interview that he had “no plans to testify” against former US President Donald Trump after he was charged by a federal prosecutor. During the interview, however, Pence also told Garrett that he vowed to “obey the law.”

Pence explained that “In this case, we’ve stood firmly for the rule of law. I took a stand, we challenged in court the scope of any testimony that I could provide, because as [the former] president of the Senate, the Constitution provides me with the protections that are afforded to members of Congress. We won that at the lower court level and ultimately, we responded to a subpoena, and I have no plans to testify."

Quickly, Pence reaffirmed that despite his refusal to testify, “people can be confident we’ll obey the law. We’ll respond to the call of the law if it comes and we’ll just tell the truth.”

When asked whether he considered the indictment against Trump to be a form of political persecution, as has been repeated by some right-wing media, Pence said he had been “very concerned about politicization at the justice department for years," expressing that he had been troubled regarding the double standard "between the way that the justice department has gone after the president … and the way they seem to … take no interest in getting to the bottom of allegations of corruption” directed toward current US President Joe Biden’s family.

Pence further explained that he had no intention to “prejudge” the indictment against Trump, “I don’t know whether the government has the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to support this case,” reaffirming that “[Trump] is entitled to the presumption of innocence."

The 2024 Republican candidate vowed to "clean house" vis-a-vis the justice department, saying that if he wins the elections, he will appoint “men and women at the highest levels … in this country that will restore the confidence of the American people in equal treatment under the law."

In conclusion, Pence, when asked if he believed Trump will receive a fair trial, said he has “every confidence” that Trump will make his case, adding that he is "never going to waver in making it clear to people that whatever the outcome of this indictment and – wherever it goes – I know I did my duty … to the constitution."

Trump pleads not guilty in trial over Capitol riots

During his almost 30-minute hearing last Thursday in a Washington DC courthouse, former US president Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to criminal charges for conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election and defraud the American people.

The hearing took place at the same courthouse where Trump supporters were convicted for their roles in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

After magistrate judge Moxila Upadhyaya read the four criminal counts and the potential maximum prison sentences in the indictment 45-pages long, brought forward by special counsel Jack Smith, Trump said: "Not guilty."

Trump claimed to reporters at Reagan National Airport before leaving Washington aboard his private plane that the charges against him were "persecution of a political opponent."

"This is a very sad day for America," he added, "This is the persecution of the person that's leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading (President Joe) Biden by a lot."

The next hearing for the case is due on August 28 before US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, who will preside over the trial.