Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Thai Fighter Jet Bombs Cambodian Targets as Border Battle Escalates

7 hours ago

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

8 hours ago

Wrestling Legend Hulk Hogan Dies at 71, TMZ Reports

9 hours ago

TikTok Will Go Dark in US Without Chinese Approval of Sale Deal, Lutnick Says

10 hours ago

Meme Stock Surge Underlines Market Froth, Mostly Centered on Retail Investors

10 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Still Searching for Missing Mother and Infant

10 hours ago

California Releases Teacher Data. It Shows Big Rise in Hispanic Teachers

11 hours ago

Biting a Bat and 5 Other Wild Moments From Ozzy Osbourne’s Life

11 hours ago

Henry Thompson Did Wonders for Fresno Airport, Leaves ‘Incredibly Big Shoes to Fill’

1 day ago
Pence Testifies Before Election Probe Grand Jury
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
April 27, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Mike Pence testified Thursday before a federal grand jury investigating efforts by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Pence’s appearance before a grand jury in Washington scrutinizing the president he once loyally served is a milestone in the Justice Department’s investigation and likely gives prosecutors a key first-person account about certain conversations and events in the weeks preceding the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. It also carries significant political implications, coming as Pence hints at entering the 2024 presidential race and a potential run against Trump, the Republican front-runner.

The testimony, confirmed by a person familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss a secret grand jury matter, came hours after a federal appeals court in a sealed order rejected a bid by Trump’s lawyers to block Pence’s appearance.

Pence was subpoenaed to testify earlier this year, but Trump’s lawyers objected, citing executive privilege concerns. A judge in March refused to block Pence’s appearance, though he did side with the former vice president’s constitutional claims that he could not be forced to answer questions about anything related to his role as presiding over the Senate’s certification of votes on Jan. 6.

“We’ll obey the law, we’ll tell the truth,” Pence said in an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday. “And the story that I’ve been telling the American people all across the country, the story that I wrote in the pages of my memoir, that’ll be the story I tell in that setting.”

It was not immediately clear what Pence may have told the grand jury, but he is the most high-profile Trump administration official to be summoned before the panel. Inside the federal building where the grand jury has been meeting, just blocks from the U.S. Capitol, security was high throughout the day because of Pence’s appearance.

Pressure to Overturn Election Results

Pence has spoken extensively about Trump’s pressure campaign urging him to reject Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential election victory in the days leading up to Jan. 6, including in his book, “So Help Me God.” Pence, as vice president, had a ceremonial role overseeing Congress’ counting of the Electoral College vote but did not have the power to affect the results, despite Trump’s contention otherwise.

Pence, a former Indiana governor and congressman, has said that Trump endangered his family and everyone else who was at the Capitol that day, and history will hold him “accountable.”

“For four years, we had a close working relationship. It did not end well,” Pence wrote, summing up their time in the White House.

Trump was speaking in New Hampshire when news broke of Pence’s grand jury appearance, but he did not mention it.

Pence Challenged Subpoena

Lawyers for Pence had raised their own, more narrow challenge to the subpoena. They argued that because Pence was serving in his capacity as president of the Senate as electoral votes were being counted in Congress on Jan. 6, he was protected from being forced to testify about that process under the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, which is intended to protect members of Congress from being questioned about official legislative acts.

A judge agreed with that argument, effectively narrowing the scope of his expected testimony.

The Justice Department special counsel leading the investigation, Jack Smith, has cast a broad net in interviews and has sought the testimony of a long list of former Trump aides, including ex-White House counsel Pat Cipollone and former adviser Stephen Miller.

Smith is separately investigating Trump over the potential mishandling of hundreds of classified documents at his Palm Beach, Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, as well as possible efforts to obstruct that probe.

It is unclear when either of the special counsel’s investigations will end or who, if anyone, will be charged.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

The Entz Era Begins at Fresno State With QB Job Up for Grabs

DON'T MISS

Hoover High School Coach Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

DON'T MISS

Hulk Hogan Is Gone, but Hulkamania Rolls On in Fresno and Around the Globe

DON'T MISS

Fresno Brewery Teams With Japanese Sister City on Rice Lager Release

DON'T MISS

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Mail Theft During Organized Retail Crime Detail

DON'T MISS

California Political Lobbying Firm Agrees to Settle Federal Fraud Allegations

DON'T MISS

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

DON'T MISS

Madera County Authorities Dismantle Illegal Marijuana Grow Operation

DON'T MISS

Israel and US Recall Teams From Gaza Truce Talks, US Says Hamas Not Showing Good Faith

UP NEXT

Hoover High School Coach Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

UP NEXT

Hulk Hogan Is Gone, but Hulkamania Rolls On in Fresno and Around the Globe

UP NEXT

Fresno Brewery Teams With Japanese Sister City on Rice Lager Release

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Mail Theft During Organized Retail Crime Detail

UP NEXT

California Political Lobbying Firm Agrees to Settle Federal Fraud Allegations

UP NEXT

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

UP NEXT

Madera County Authorities Dismantle Illegal Marijuana Grow Operation

UP NEXT

Israel and US Recall Teams From Gaza Truce Talks, US Says Hamas Not Showing Good Faith

UP NEXT

How Long Will Fresno’s Resort-Like Summer Weather Continue?

Fresno Brewery Teams With Japanese Sister City on Rice Lager Release

3 hours ago

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

4 hours ago

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Mail Theft During Organized Retail Crime Detail

4 hours ago

California Political Lobbying Firm Agrees to Settle Federal Fraud Allegations

4 hours ago

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

4 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Dismantle Illegal Marijuana Grow Operation

4 hours ago

Israel and US Recall Teams From Gaza Truce Talks, US Says Hamas Not Showing Good Faith

5 hours ago

How Long Will Fresno’s Resort-Like Summer Weather Continue?

6 hours ago

Tulare County Judge Reduces Sentence for Teen Convicted in Killing Orosi Teacher

7 hours ago

Thai Fighter Jet Bombs Cambodian Targets as Border Battle Escalates

7 hours ago

The Entz Era Begins at Fresno State With QB Job Up for Grabs

Fresno State’s first football practice of 2025 began with a flyover. While the military jet’s path may have been coincidental, t...

52 minutes ago

52 minutes ago

The Entz Era Begins at Fresno State With QB Job Up for Grabs

Miguel Lara, a Hoover High School soccer coach, was arrested Thursday for possessing child sexual abuse material, authorities said.
1 hour ago

Hoover High School Coach Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

1 hour ago

Hulk Hogan Is Gone, but Hulkamania Rolls On in Fresno and Around the Globe

3 hours ago

Fresno Brewery Teams With Japanese Sister City on Rice Lager Release

Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell stands at the podium to address Judge Alison Nathan during her sentencing in a courtroom sketch in New York City, U.S. June 28, 2022. (Reuters File)
4 hours ago

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

4 hours ago

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Mail Theft During Organized Retail Crime Detail

4 hours ago

California Political Lobbying Firm Agrees to Settle Federal Fraud Allegations

Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, looks on, before President Trump signs the "Genius Act", which will develop regulatory framework for stablecoin cryptocurrencies and expand oversight of the industry, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
4 hours ago

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend