On Wednesday (Aug. 17), former Vice President Mike Pence explained he would consider testifying before the Jan. 6 Select Committee but prefaced that by saying he would have to weigh it against the “unprecedented” nature of a Vice President testifying on Capitol Hill.
Speaking at an event at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, Pence said he would “consider” participating in the public hearing if he was “invited.”
“But you’ve heard me mention the Constitution a few times this morning,” Pence continued his speech. “Under the Constitution, we have three co-equal branches of government. Any invitation to be directed to me, I would have to reflect on the unique role I was serving in as vice president.”
He then explained that a vice President being “summoned to testify on Capitol Hill” was “unprecedented in history.”
Pence also emphasized that his “first obligation is to continue to hold my oath, continue to uphold the framework of government enshrined in the Constitution.”
Pence has been a pivotal figure in the public hearings despite never having testified. But his presence has loomed, and so has the information he had access to as the Vice President during the end of Trump’s first term.
One critical piece of evidence Pence can provide further clarity on in the public hearings is Trump and his allies attempting to get Pence to reject electors from a handful of states, a move to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory.
