Mike Pence Will Be Interviewed by DoJ Over Trump Jan. 6 Revelations—Lawyer

Former vice president Mike Pence must be questioned about the January 6 attack after openly discussing that he was aware of Donald Trump’s alleged criminal intent, a lawyer has said.

Ryan Goodman, a New York University law professor and former special counsel at the Department of Defense, made the claim while tweeting out a segment of Pence’s interview with ABC’s World News Tonight anchor David Muir, which will air in full on Monday night.

In the clip, Muir asks Pence how he felt after realizing that Trump tweeted during the Capitol riot that Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done” by preventing the 2020 election results from being certified on January 6, 2021, during the vice president’s purely ceremonial role of president officer of the Senate.

Trump is alleged to have sent the tweet minutes after being told that Pence had been escorted off the Senate floor for his safety. During the January 6 insurrection, Trump supporters were heard chanting “hang Mike Pence” in the Capitol’s corridors.

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visits “America Reports” at FOX News D.C. Bureau on October 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. A lawyer has suggested Pence will be questioned by the DoJ about the January 6 attack over comments he has made promoting his new book. Shannon Finney/Getty Images

In response, Pence said the tweet from Trump “angered” him.

“I turned to my daughter, who was standing nearby, and I said, ‘It doesn’t take courage to break the law. It takes courage to uphold the law,'” Pence said.

“I mean, the president’s words were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem.”

While sharing the clip on Twitter, Goodman wrote: “Jan 6th Committee report can reference this. DOJ little choice but to interview Pence.”

Pence has previously said he would “consider” testifying to the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack, but the panel has so far not subpoenaed the former president. The committee is hoping to publish a report on the investigation by the end of the year.

The Department of Justice has given no real indication on if it will interview Pence as part of a criminal probe into the January 6 attack.

Pence appeared on ABC to promote his new book, So Help Me God.

Extracts of Pence’s book were previously published by The Wall Street Journal containing details on how Trump repeatedly pressured his one-time ally to overturn the 2020 Election results.

Pence also described how Trump worked with lawyer John Eastman to try and force him to block the congressional certification of the election, even though Eastman knew it may be illegal to do so.

“I had already confirmed that there were no competing electors,” Pence wrote. “Mr. Eastman repeatedly qualified his argument, saying it was only a legal theory. I asked, ‘Do you think I have the authority to reject or return votes?'”

“He stammered, ‘Well, it’s never been tested in the courts, so I think it is an open question.’

“At that I turned to the president, who was distracted, and said, ‘Mr. President, did you hear that? Even your lawyer doesn’t think I have the authority to return electoral votes,'” Pence adds.

“The president nodded. As Mr. Eastman struggled to explain, the president replied, ‘I like the other thing better,’ presumably meaning that I could simply reject electoral votes.”

Discussing the revelations in the book, former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner said that Pence may have committed a crime by admitting to concealing a felony from the authorities.

“That’s what Mike Pence did. Conceal, and did not as soon as possible, report Donald Trump’s crimes,” Kirschner said on his YouTube channel.

Pence has been contacted for comment.