The head of Congress committee probing The January 6 riots indicated Friday that the panel would ask former Vice President Mike Pence to voluntarily meet with lawmakers this month.
“I think you can expect that before the month is out,” said Representative Benny Thompson, D-Miss., told NPR in an interview. “Our committee really needs to hear what their opinion is about what happened on January 6th.”
An aide to the committee later told NBC News that Thompson’s remarks “reflect that the selection committee is considering issuing an invitation to the former vice president this month.”
Pence took a tough stand on the outcome of the Capital Riot. He has cleared former President Donald Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud by saying that there were “irregularities” in the 2020 election, while he and Trump are also saying never see “eye to eye” on this subject.
Pence’s testimony could provide valuable information to the January 6 committee, particularly over negotiations within the Trump White House leading up to the attack on the Capitol, where Pence’s life was believed to be in danger as many in the pro-Trump crowd shouted “hang mike penceTrump has called Pence a “good guy” but also said his vice president made a “big mistake” in refusing to interrupt the official counting of Congressional electoral votes from the 2020 election.
The January 6 committee has said that following the November election, White House advisers coordinated with Trump and Rudy Giuliani to discuss strategies for reversing the results and not certifying the Electoral College’s count in Congress on Pence. put pressure on
He has had several Pence aides, including his former chief of staff Mark Short. Cooperation with the House Committee,
Adam Kizinger, R-Ill., one of only two Republicans on the nine-member panel, told MSNBC on Friday that Pence’s former aides have been “more than helpful.”
But he said that may not happen to Pence, who has largely remained silent on the committee’s investigation.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t want to cooperate in some way,” Kizinger said. “I don’t know if that means – hopefully not a summons, but maybe written answers to questions or a voluntary interview. We’d love to hear from him.