Judge rules that Pence must comply with special counsel’s subpoena, testify before grand jury

Former Vice President Mike Pence must appear before a grand jury in compliance with a subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith, Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled.

Mr. Pence faces questions about the efforts by former President Donald Trump to overturn and invalidate the results of the 2020 presidential election.

He will not, however, have to answer queries about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attacked the Capitol, people familiar with the still-sealed ruling told both CNN and the Associated Press.

At an event in Iowa in February, Mr. Pence said the subpoena compelling him to appear was unconstitutional.

The crux of his team’s case is that, since he was president of the Senate during the election certification on Jan. 6, 2021, Mr. Pence is shielded from the subpoena by the “speech or debate” clause of the Constitution.

“I am going to fight the Biden DOJ subpoena for me to appear before the grand jury because I believe it’s unconstitutional and unprecedented,” Mr. Pence said at the Iowa event.

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Mr. Pence indicated in an interview with ABC News that he is not opposed to all lines of questioning.

“We’re not asserting executive privilege, which may encompass other discussions,” Mr. Pence told ABC News.

Despite Judge Boasberg’s ruling, Mr. Pence is still able to appeal in the hopes of avoiding an appearance before the grand jury, if he so chooses.

“We’re going to respect the decisions of the court, and that may take us all the way to the highest court in the land,” Mr. Pence said to ABC News, indicating that he would fight the subpoena all the way to the Supreme Court.

 Mr. Pence previously declined to appear before the House select committee dealing with the Jan. 6 protests.

However, Mr. Pence published details of conversations he had with Mr. Trump leading up to Jan. 6 in his memoir “So Help Me God,” published in November 2022.

“You’re too honest,” Mr. Trump is claimed to have said in a Jan. 1, 2021 phone call, adding that “hundreds of thousands are gonna hate your guts,” according to Mr. Pence. He was referring to Mr. Pence’s decision not to reject presidential electors for President Biden from several contested swing states.