Former Republican Vice President Mike Pence does not rule out testifying as a prosecution witness if his former employer Donald Trump is charged with arranging a criminal conspiracy to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, news agency Reuters reported. When asked on CBS's Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan on Sunday if he planned to testify against Trump if the matter went to trial, Pence replied he had "no plans" but did not rule it out.
"But people can be confident we'll obey the law, we'll respond to the call of law, if it comes, and we'll just tell the truth," added Pence, who is running against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
On August 1, a four-count, 45-page Justice Department indictment charging Trump with illegally attempting to cling to power after losing the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden made Pence a prominent role in Trump's latest criminal allegations.
On August 3, Trump pled not guilty to all allegations.
Pence monitored the processes as president of the United States Senate in the run-up to the certification of Biden's victory in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump put enormous pressure on him to rescind the vote, but he refused. Some Trump fans who rioted at the United States Capitol screamed, "Hang Mike Pence!"
That constant pressure, as well as the "contemporaneous notes" Pence took in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021 violence, are extensively referenced in last week's indictment.
The indictment mentions a phone discussion on January 1, 2021, during which Trump chastised Pence for not taking part in the conspiracy to alter the election outcome.
"You're far too honest," Trump said to Pence.
Pence's probable testimony, as well as his notes, could be critical components of the prosecution's case against Trump at trial.
On Saturday, Trump criticised Pence for the first time during the primary campaign. He denied calling him "too honest," labelled him as "delusional," and referred to him as "'Liddle' Mike Pence."