Former Vice President Mike Pence’s team is quietly meeting with the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, CNN reported Monday.
Citing a source familiar with the matter, the news network revealed that Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short testified before the Panel last week in a lengthy session and supplied a number of documents that were subpoenaed by the committee.
Short’s testimony is the most significant sign to date that Pence’s team is cooperating with the probe, CNN noted, adding that his testimony came after months of discussions between his attorney Emmet Flood and lawyers on the committee, as well as a subpoena.
It’s unclear whether Pence himself will testify. While the committee hopes he will cooperate in some way, multiple sources told CNN that Pence would prefer aides like Short act as the former vice president’s “proxy” so Pence himself does not have to appear.
As noted by CNN’s Gloria Borger, Pence is seeking to walk a tightrope between affirming that he did the right thing on January 6 and the fact that he will need the support of Trump’s base, which falsely believes the 2020 election was stolen, to gain traction in a 2024 Republican presidential primary.
“This is all a political calculation because he wants to run for president. Somehow he thinks he can straddle and do the right thing but not alienate the base,” one source said, according to the report.
In addition to Short, the committee has already questioned retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, his former national security adviser who was with Trump at the White House on January 6, as well as retired Judge Michael Luttig, whose tweets on Pence’s role on January 6 were cited by Pence in his letter released the morning of January 6 announcing he would certify the election. The committee also hopes to speak with Greg Jacob, another top Pence aide, according to CNN.
