JAKARTA - Former Republican Vice President of the United States Mike Pence on Sunday expressed his readiness to testify at the trial of his former boss, Donald Trump regarding the 2020 Presidential Election, ready to tell the truth.
Asked on CBS's "Face the Nation" whether he would testify against Trump if the case went to trial, Pence said he had "no plans" to testify but did not rule that out.
"However, the public can rest assured that we will comply with the law. We will comply with the summons of the law, when it comes, and we will tell the truth," said Pence, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2024. August 7th.
Meanwhile, Trump's lawyer, John Lauro, said he would welcome Pence's testimony if the former vice president decided to do so. Lauro argued in a series of TV interviews on Sunday that any action Trump took after the 2020 election was an "aspirational demand," protected by free speech.
"Mike Pence will be one of our best witnesses at trial," Lauro said Sunday in an interview on ABC's "This Week."
"I can't wait until I have the opportunity to cross check Pence, because what he is going to do is completely remove any doubt that Mr. Trump, President Trump, firmly believes that election irregularities led to inappropriate results," Lauro said.
Pence became a central figure in Trump's latest criminal indictment on Aug. 1, when a 45-page Justice Department indictment accused the former president of trying to stay in power illegally, after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all of the charges at a hearing on August 3.
It is known, ahead of the certification of Biden's victory in Congress on January 6, 2021, Pence oversaw the process in his ceremonial role as President of the US Senate. He came under immense pressure from Trump to cancel the vote and refused. Some of the Trump supporters who rioted at the US Capitol chanted "Hang Mike Pence!"
That unrelenting pressure, and "contemporary notes" Pence made leading up to the January 6, 2021 riots, are frequently cited in the indictment.
At one point, the indictment references a January 1, 2021 phone call in which Trump berated Pence for not participating in a scheme to overturn the election results.
"You are being too honest," Trump told Pence at the time.
In the meantime, it's potential for Pence's testimony and his notes to become a key part of the prosecution case against Trump at trial.
Separately, for the first time in his primary campaign, Trump attacked Pence on Saturday. He denied calling Pence "too honest" and described him as "delusional."
While Pence's presidential campaign has so far failed to take off, he risks missing the first Republican presidential debate later this month due to a lack of donors.
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Trump has been indicted three times this year. He has pleaded not guilty in two other criminal cases. In Miami, Trump faces federal charges in Miami for allegedly keeping classified documents after leaving office and obstructing justice.
He was also indicted in New York State for allegedly falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star.
Trump could face a fourth charge soon in Georgia, related to his efforts to reverse his defeat in the battleground state after the 2020 election.
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