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| Photo Credit: AP. |
A committee member of the January 6 panel investigating the violent Capitol Hill riot by former President Donald Trump supporters has said former Vice President Mike Pence is expected to testify before the panel.
The move is
part of the committee investigation into attempts by the former president and
his supporters to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory
after Mr. Trump was defeated in the polls.
“In no one’s
case is a subpoena out of the question, but I would assume he’s gonna come
forward and testify voluntarily, the way the vast majority of people
have," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said during an interview that aired Sunday
on CBS News's Face the Nation, the Washington Examiner reports.
Last month Pence
said he is open to testifying before the January 6 panel investigating the
insurrection at Congress.
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.”