Pence Defies Special Counsel’s Subpoena, Declares He Will Fight To Supreme Court

Former Vice President Mike Pence told reporters he would not testify for Special Counsel Jack Smith‘s probe into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Pence said he would fight to the Supreme Court to avoid giving testimony to the investigation.

“Never before in American history has a Vice President been summoned to appear in court to testify against the President with whom they serve,” Pence said to reporters after an event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “Let me first be clear: I’m going to fight the Biden DOJ subpoena for me to appear before the grand jury because I believe it’s unconstitutional and unprecedented.”

Smith has been seeking statements from Pence as part of the federal investigation into the Trump administration’s involvement in the January 6 Capitol riots.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Special Counsel Smith to investigate former President Donald Trump‘s involvement with the riot, classified documents found at Mar-A-Lago and 2020 election interference. The investigation has been moving quickly, issuing subpoenas and bringing contempt motions against the 45th President.

Pence has admonished Trump for his involvement in the Capitol riots. Pence was at the Capitol on January 6, presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 election results. Protestors, egged on by the former president, were heard outside the Capitol cheering, “hang Mike Pence.”

Still, he doesn’t want to help the investigation, saying he will fight the subpoena “as far as it needs to go, if needs be, to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Pence claimed the Justice Department’s attempts to hold lawmakers accountable for their engagement in the Capitol riots is another example of political overreach from the nation’s top prosecutor. He said the department has acted like a “two-tiered justice system that Republicans have been dealing with throughout the Biden administration.”

“I have nothing to hide, and I’m proud of what we accomplished. But for me, this is a moment where you have to decide where you stand, and I stand on the Constitution of the United States,” Pence continued.

Pence’s comments were made after events in Minneapolis and Cedar Rapids, aimed at rallying conservative parents against gender-affirming policies in public schools. Pence’s advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, filed an amicus brief in a federal appeals case between parents of students in Linn-Mar Community School District in Marion, Iowa, and the school district. The school had been providing resources to transitioning students without parents’ consent.

“Across the country, parents’ rights are being trampled by a politically correct nanny state that’s ruining our schools and telling our parents that they have no role in their children’s most important decisions,” Pence said to his advocacy group.

Pence’s political stance is part of a wave of anti-LGBT policies adopted by conservatives leading up to the 2024 presidential election. His advocacy for parents ignores a wave of warnings from experts that parent’s rights measures could endanger LGBT-identifying students.

“Each student and each family have different concerns about privacy and confidentiality around social transition,” the Human Rights Campaign website advises on appropriately affirming gender transitions in schools. “Ensure privacy and share information with school staff only on a need-to-know basis. Legally, it should be handled the same as a medical issue under FERPA and a student’s right to privacy.”

Article by Ben Shimkus