WASHINGTON – Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the Justice Department's special counsel overseeing inquiries into Donald Trump's efforts to subvert the 2020 election and the former president's retention of classified documents, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.
It was not immediately clear what special counsel Jack Smith is seeking from Pence, but the demand likely marks a major escalation in the inquiry since Smith was appointed to manage the inquiries in November by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The subpoena to Pence was first reported by ABC News.
The Justice Department declined comment. A Pence spokesperson also declined comment late Thursday.
Almost immediately after his appointment, Smith has been active on multiple fronts, issuing a flurry of subpoenas in December to local officials seeking communications with the former president, his campaign and advisers.
The man behind the probe:Who is Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed to lead Trump investigations?
Special counsels abound:Biden documents probe means US has 3 special counsel investigations at once. What are they?
Officials in Wisconsin, Michigan and Arizona confirmed that subpoenas had been received by county election authorities.
But the Pence summons indicates the inquiry has reached a possible inflection point related to Trump's efforts to cling to power.
It also sets up a potential challenge from Trump who has claimed executive privilege in attempts to block the testimony of former aides and associates who have been summoned as witnesses in multiple investigations, including a special House committee that examined the Jan. 6 attack.
Aides to Trump declined to comment Thursday.
Trump has previously cast the special counsel appointment as a "political stunt."
"This is a totally expected political stunt by a feckless, politicized, weaponized Biden Department of Justice," the campaign said at the time.
Yet Pence's injection into the inquiry, while not unexpected, would potentially pit two prospective frontrunners for the Republican nomination in 2024 against each other in a criminal investigation. While Trump has launched a bid to re-take the White House, Pence has not formally made his announcement.
A separate Justice Department special counsel has been appointed to examine President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents that were found unsecured at a former Washington, D.C., office he used after leaving the vice presidency and at his Wilmington, Delaware home.
Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, described Pence as a "a key witness" in Smith inquiry.
"Trump reportedly pressured him to refuse to certify the electoral votes on January 6th or to delay and send the matter back to the states," Mariotti tweeted Thursday.
Trump docs:'Astounding': Trump documents reveal casual disregard for long-standing security protocols
Source link
