Former Vice President Pence testifies before the grand jury in the investigative process against Mr. Trump
Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared before the grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s role in trying to overturn the 2020 election, a source with knowledge of the case told Reuters on Thursday.
Earlier, ABC News and NBC News reported that Mr. Pence remained in the Washington District Court for more than seven hours.
It is not yet clear what Mr. Pence, who is the most senior Trump administration official to be called to testify before the grand jury, may have told the grand jury. Mr. Pence’s lawyers had no comment.
The former vice president’s grand jury appearance comes as he considers challenging Mr. Trump to win the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination.
Mr. Trump, who has announced his candidacy for the White House, was indicted in New York in connection with payments made in exchange for silence regarding allegations of extramarital affairs with two women.
CNN said Wednesday that the court rejected Mr. Trump’s request to block Mr. Pence’s testimony.
According to the Associated Press, Mr. Trump was giving a speech in New Hampshire when news of Mr. Pence’s testimony broke.
Asked at a restaurant if he was concerned about that, Mr Trump replied, “No I am not and I have no knowledge of the testimony”.
Earlier this month, Mr Pence said he would not appeal a judge’s ruling requiring him to testify before a federal grand jury about conversations he had with Mr Trump before the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“We will obey the law and tell the truth,” Mr. Pence said in an interview with CBS News that aired Sunday. “The same story that I have told Americans across the country, that I have written in my memoir, I will tell the same story when I go before the jury,” he said.
Special Counsel Jack Smith is leading the investigation into efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, including a plot to create fake voter rolls to block Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.
Mr. Smith is also leading another Justice Department investigation into whether former President Trump illegally obtained classified documents after his term ended at his residence in Mar-a Lago, Florida.
It is not yet clear when the investigations into both cases are expected to be closed, and whether charges will be filed in the cases.
