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| Photo Credit: AP. |
Liz Cheney, the Republican vice chair of the January 6 committee said they are in “discussions” with former Vice President Mike Pence’s counsel about testifying before the panel, Washington Examiner reports.
Cheney, a
fierce critic of former President Donald Trump who lost her bid to return to
congress this month in Wyoming said she hopes Pence testifies before the committee,
adding that he "played a critical role on January 6," she told ABC
News, according to the Washington Examiner.
"I
would hope that he will understand how important it is for the American people
to know every aspect of the truth about what happened that day," Cheney
said when asked if she thought Pence would testify in September.
Cheney, the
daughter of former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said she would not make any
announcement about Trump’s testimony before the panel when pressed on the
issue.
Pence expresses concern over politicization of January 6 Capitol riot
Pence
slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the politicization of the Capitol riot after
she removed Republican picks from the January 6 committee, adding that the American
people "have a right to know" what happened on January 6. He said he
would be telling his story more frequently in the future.
Mr. Pence
had in the wake of the FBI raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate criticized the
agency for its approach.
Is Pence willing to testify before the January 6 panel?
Cheney’s
comment is coming after Pence said he is open to testifying before the January
6 panel investigating the violet riot at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
The former
vice president said he has not ruled out the possibility of testifying but
would need time to weigh the decision in advance, saying it would be
unprecedented.
“If there
was an invitation to participate, I would consider it," Pence said,
according to Washington Examiner. "It would be unprecedented in history
for a vice president to be summoned to testify on Capitol Hill, but as I’ve
said, I don’t wanna prejudge. Under the Constitution, we have three co-equal
branches of government, and any invitation that’d be directed to me, I’d have
to reflect on the unique role I was serving in as vice president."
Pence’s
aides said the committee contacted his legal team months ago to see if he would
be willing to testify but the former Vice President said he would give “due
consideration” to cooperate with the House Select Committee, The Associated
Press reports.
“Beyond my
concerns about the partisan nature of the Jan. 6 committee, there are profound
constitutional issues that have to be considered,” he said. “No vice president
has ever been summoned to testify before the Congress of the United States.”