Former Vice President Mike Pence said he’ll “tell the truth” and “obey the law” when he testifies in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“We’ll obey the law. We’ll tell the truth and the story that I’ve been telling the American people all across the country, the story that I wrote in the pages of my memoir, that will — that will be what I tell in that setting as well,” Pence said in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
Pence’s remarks come weeks after he announced he would not appeal a federal judge’s order that he testify in front of a grand jury investigating Trump’s actions leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
In March, D.C. Chief Judge James Boasberg shut down Trump’s argument that Pence shouldn’t have to testify on the grounds of executive privilege, emphasizing the former vice president is not immune from testifying on alleged illegal actions by Trump. Boasberg ordered Pence to testify about any relevant conversations with Trump leading up to the insurrection.
Trump’s team recently appealed that decision to try and reverse the judge’s ruling.
In a separate ruling, Judge Boasberg did grant Pence a partial victory, agreeing with his lawyer’s argument that the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause gives the former vice president some limited protections. In his ruling, Boasberg agreed that Pence can decline to answer questions related to his legislative actions on Jan. 6, as he was acting as the president of the Senate while he presided over the certification of the election results.
“I’m grateful that the court recognized that there are specific constitutional protections unique to the vice president when you’re serving in your role as president of the Senate,” Pence said in the interview, adding “they’ve limited what they’ll be requesting of me.”
When asked if a date has been set for his appearance in front of the grand jury, Pence said his lawyers “worked that out” with the Justice Department before quickly pivoting to praise Boasberg’s ruling.
As of now, it is unclear when Pence will appear before the grand jury in Washington.
