A federal judge has determined that former Vice President Mike Pence can testify in front of a grand jury about conversations he had with former President Donald Trump.
The testimony, when given, will focus on the discussions Trump and Pence had before the events of Jan. 6, CNN and The New York Times reported.
CNN said the ruling, which is sealed and handed down by federal Judge James Boasberg, can allow Pence to decline to answer what he did specifically as he served as president of the Senate while certifying the 2020 presidential election.
Trump had said that executive privilege blocked Pence from testifying, ABC News reported. The former president has frequently used executive privilege to stop a special council’s investigation into the events that lead to the protests on Jan. 6, but has repeatedly lost those arguments, CNN reported.
Pence and his team considered blocking the subpoena by using the Constitution’s speech or debate clause which gives protection to lawmakers from some law enforcement actions while they are performing their legislative duties, The New York Times reported.
The clause, which is Article 1, Section 6, Clause 1, reads in part:
“They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.”
Despite Pence not wanting to testify, he has stood by his decision to not follow Trump’s direction to throw out the results of the 2020 presidential election and to certify President Joe Biden’s victory, CNN reported.
Pence can appeal the judge’s decision, CNN reported.
©2023 Cox Media Group
