WASHINGTON (AP) β 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.
The person requested anonymity to discuss the private appearance before the grand jury.
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 came hours after a federal appeals court in a sealed order rejected a bid by Trump's lawyers to block Pence's appearance.
Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Federalist Society Executive Branch Review conference, Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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."
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.
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. On Wednesday, Trump's lawyers in that investigation called the Department of Justice investigation "severely botched" and "politically infected" and urged the House Intelligence Committee to step in by holding hearings and introducing legislation to correct classified document handling procedures in the White House and to standardize procedures for presidents and vice presidents for when they leave office.
"DOJ should be ordered to stand down, and the intelligence community should instead conduct an appropriate investigation and provide a full report to this Committee, as well as your counterparts in the Senate," the lawyers wrote.
It is unclear when either of the special counsel's investigations will end or who, if anyone, will be charged.
Photos: Mike Pence through the years
Republican candidate Mike Pence, left, hugs his mother Nancy Pence following his victory speech in Anderson, Ind., Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2000.Β
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, right, talks about the flooding in Indiana to Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-Ind, left, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., and Fred Armstrong, Mayor of Columbus, during a stop in Columbus, Ind., Wednesay, Jan. 12, 2005. A wave of thunderstorms moved across Indiana overnight, causing some scattered flash flooding in north-central Indiana on Wednesday as already saturated ground could not handle the additional rain.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., who together proposed a bill concerning illegal immigrants, take part in a news conference in San Antonio, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2006. Hutchison and Pence toured the Customs and Border Protection Air Operations Center in San Antonio during their visit. Their proposal would require illegal immigrants to cross the border and apply through privately run "Ellis Island" centers to return to the United States on work visas.Β
US Republican Senator from Arizona and a presidential hopeful John McCain speaks during a press conference at the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Sunday, April 1, 2007. A Republican congressional delegation led by Sen. John McCain on Sunday blasted Democratic efforts to impose a deadline for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and McCain charged that the American people were not getting a "full picture" of progress in the security crackdown in the capital. In the back are Republicans Mike Pence from Indiana and Rick Renzi from Arizona.Β
Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., center, speaks during a news conference on Iran , Friday, June 19, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Joining him, from left are, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Va., Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and Rep.Darrell Issa, R-Calif.Β
From left, House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Va., and Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., listen as President Barack Obama speaks to Republican lawmakers at the GOP House Issues Conference in Baltimore, Friday, Jan. 29, 2010.Β
Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., right, accompanied by fellow House Republicans, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010. From left are, House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, R-Ohio, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Va., and Rep. John Kline, R-Minn.Β
Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., answers questions as he meets with constituents during a town hall meeting in Pendleton, Ind., Friday, Jan. 28, 2011. Pence announced Thursday that he will not seek the presidency in 2012.Β
Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., as he kicks off his campaign for the Republican nomination for Governor of Indiana during an gathering of supporters in Columbus, Ind., Saturday, June 11, 2011. Pence promised to fight health care reform and federal climate change legislation.Β
The three candidates for Indiana governor, Republican Mike Pence, right, Democrat John Gregg, center, and Libertarian Rupert Boneham participate in a debate in Fort Wayne, Ind., Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012.Β
Indiana Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence speaks to supporters with his family at his side at an Indiana Republican Party on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in Indianapolis. Pence defeated Democrat John Gregg and Libertarian Rupert Boneham.Β
In this Dec. 6, 2012 photo, Indiana Republican Gov.-elect Mike Pence talks with Sandy Sabinas at a breakfast meeting at a South Bend, Ind., restaurant.Β
Mike Pence, right, waves as he leaves the stage with his wife Karen after he was sworn in as Indiana's 50th governor during a ceremony at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013.Β
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence talks about Indianapolis' bid for the NFL football's 2018 Super Bowl during an announcement in front of the downtown skyline in Indianapolis, Friday, Aug. 30, 2013. The city hosted the 2012 Super Bowl.Β
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence looks over a storm damaged home in Kokomo, Ind., Monday, Nov. 18, 2013. Dozens of tornadoes and intense thunderstorms swept across the U.S. Midwest on Sunday, unleashing powerful winds that flattened entire neighborhoods, flipped over cars and uprooted trees.Β
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, second from left, South Carolina Gov. Nikki R. Haley, second from right, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, far right, listens as Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, far left, speaks during a press conference at the Republican Governors Association's quarterly meeting on Wednesday May 21, 2014 in New York.Β
President Barack Obama talks with, from left, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, R-Ind., Rep. Larry Bucshon, R-Ind., and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, after arriving at Evansville Regional Airport in Evansville, Ind., Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. Obama was to deliver remarks at an event at Millennium Steel Service to discuss the economy as part of Manufacturing Day. US employers added 248,000 jobs in September, a burst of hiring that helped drive down the unemployment rate to 5.9 percent, the lowest since July 2008.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, left, talks about recent Republican party gains and the road ahead for their party during a press conference at the Republican governors' conference in Boca Raton, Fla., Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. The organization's annual conference began Wednesday in a luxury oceanside resort where the nation's Republican governors are celebrating their party's recent success in the midterm elections while privately jockeying for position as the 2016 presidential contest looms.Β
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence announces a 1 billion boost in state highway funding over four years at the Indiana Department of Transportation Traffic Management Center in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015.Β
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence speaks after a meeting with Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph Tobin at the Statehouse Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, in Indianapolis, a day after the archdiocese said it has the means to resettle a Syrian refugee family bound for the state. Pence blocked state agencies from distributing federal money for Syrian refugees following the deadly Paris attacks.Β
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence speaks during the Indiana Republican Party Spring Dinner Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Indianapolis.Β
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, right, and Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence, R-Ind., walk towards supporters after Trump arrived via helicopter in Cleveland, Wednesday, July 20, 2016.
Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence, R-Ind., gestures as the audience applauds after he spoke during the third day session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Wednesday, July 20, 2016.Β
Republican presidential Candidate Donald Trump gives his running mate, Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana a kiss as they shake hands after Pence's acceptance speech during the third day session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Wednesday, July 20, 2016.Β
Vice President Mike Pence, with his wife Karen Pence, speaks at the Veterans Inaugural Ball, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, and Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso pose for a photo at the end of their joint press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Tuesday, April 18, 2017. Pence said the U.S. would work with Japan, China and other nations to get Pyongyang to give up its atomic weapons program. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement in the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, Pool)
President Donald Trump gestures as delivers his first State of the Union address in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol to a joint session of Congress Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018 in Washington, as Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan applaud. (Win McNamee/Pool via AP)
FILE - Vice President Mike Pence stands to officiate with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as a joint session of the House and Senate convenes to count the Electoral College votes cast in November's election, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2021, file photo, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff, top, watch as former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen walk down the steps of the Capitol during the inauguration of President Joe Biden in Washington. Pence is steadily re-entering public life as he eyes a potential run for the White House in 2024. He's writing op-eds, delivering speeches, preparing trips to early voting states and launching an advocacy group likely to focus on promoting the accomplishments of the Trump administration. (David Tulis/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2021, file phot, former Vice President Mike Pence speaks after arriving back in his hometown of Columbus, Ind., as his wife Karen watches. Pence is steadily re-entering public life as he eyes a potential run for the White House in 2024. He's writing op-eds, delivering speeches, preparing trips to early voting states and launching an advocacy group likely to focus on promoting the accomplishments of the Trump administration. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
