Former Vice President Mike Pence said he would comply with the law if he were compelled to testify in former President Donald Trump’s trial in the 2020 election case.
“I have no plans to testify, but, look, we’ll always comply with the law. But … I don’t know what the path of this indictment will be,” he told CNN’s Dana Bash in an interview that aired Sunday on “State of the Union.”
“The president’s entitled to a presumption of innocence. He’s entitled to make his defense in court,” he added. “But actually there are profound issues around this, pertaining to the First Amendment, freedom of speech and the rest. I’m confident he and his lawyer will litigate all those things.”
Pence was subpoenaed by the special counsel in February to testify before the federal grand jury, and after some legal back-and-forth, he testified in April.
Trump on Thursday pleaded not guilty in a Washington, DC, courthouse to four criminal charges – including conspiracy to defraud the United States – related to the investigation led by special counsel Jack Smith into attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The federal judge who will preside over the case intends to set a trial date at the next hearing on August 28.
Pence also told CBS News, in an interview that aired Sunday, “we’ll respond to the call of the law if it comes and we’ll just tell the truth” if he is asked to be a witness.
In his interview with CNN, Pence said Trump “was wrong then, and he’s wrong now” on the idea that Pence, as vice president presiding over Congress’ countof the Electoral College vote, had a right to reject the election result.
“The American people deserve to know that President Trump asked me to put him over my oath to the Constitution, but I kept my oath and I always will. And I’m running for president in part because I think anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. I mean, our Constitution is more important than any one man. Our country is more important than any one man’s career,” he said.
On Saturday evening, Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that “I never told … Pence to put me above the Constitution,” calling the former vice president “delusional.”
