Opinion: What is Mike Pence Doing?

“You and all your drug dealing compadres just derailed my pursuit, so frankly𑁋 I'm leaning in another direction entirely.” - La Camaleón, Machete Kills.

Audio provided by Google.

Washington D.C.𑁋Back from The Hague, Special Counsel Jack Smith, the special prosecutor investigating former president Donald Trump’s connection to the January 6 Capitol insurrection and his mishandling of classified documents, subpoenaed former Vice President Mike Pence. Last year, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith to oversee an investigation into Trump after he announced his third presidential bid.

To recap, on January 6, 2021, after losing the presidential election to President Joe Biden, Trump tried to convince Pence to refuse to certify ballots from certain states. When Pence refused, Trump incited a mop of his supporters who descended on the U.S. Capitol with chants to kill the vice president and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Now embroiled in the most extensive criminal investigation in its history, DOJ continues to chip away at the firewall created by Trump allies trying to shield him from legal exposure. Now ramping up his investigation, Smith seeks to compel Pence to tell his version of January 6 under oath. Pence is refusing to cooperate with the subpoena, and in return, Smith’s office asked a federal judge to compel the former vice president to answer questions under oath.