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| Photo Credit: AP. |
Former Vice President Mike Pence said he is open to testifying before the January 6 panel investigating the violet riot at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Mr. Pence was speaking during a Politics & Eggs breakfast in Manchester, New Hampshire on Wednesday morning, the Washington Examiner reports.
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.
Will Pence testify at the January 6 committee?
“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."
Defund the FBI?
Pence also condemned
calls from some pro-Trump lawmakers to defund the FBI following the agency’s
raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate over allegations he removed classified
documents from the White House to his home after his presidency.
"Calls
to defund the FBI are just as wrong as calls to defund the police," he
said but however called on the Justice Department and attorney general to
release more information on the raid.
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.”