Posted on 08/06/2023 6:41:17 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Justice Department’s latest indictment against former President Donald Trump made some waves on the Sunday morning circuit. At center stage was former Vice President Mike Pence, who has been struggling to build something resembling an adequate presidential primary campaign.
The prosecution seems to believe that having Pence testify in the upcoming legal proceedings against the Orange Man What Is Bad™ might deliver exactly what they need to put him behind bars. On the flip side, Trump’s defense team seems confident that the former vice president’s possible testimony will work in their client’s favor. Which side is right? The answer might be somewhat complicated.
Attorney John Lauro, who is representing Trump, indicated that he would relish the opportunity to cross-examine Pence. During an interview on ABC’s “This Week” with host George Stephanopoulos, he stated that the former vice president would “be one of our best witnesses at trial” and that if Pence “testifies consistent with his book, then President Trump will be acquitted.”
Trump attorney John Lauro tells @GStephanopoulos he “cannot wait” to cross-examine former Vice Pres. Pence, says Pence will “eliminate any doubt that Pres. Trump firmly believed that the election irregularities had led to inappropriate results.” https://t.co/J9vkffLtvf pic.twitter.com/3s77AAQ8wu
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 6, 2023
Meanwhile, Pence was on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” dishing on his interactions with Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 election. During the interview, he contradicted claims made by the former president’s legal team that he asked him to only delay the counting of electoral votes so that audits of state results could take place. Pence responded:
Major, that’s not what happened. And, you know, as I wrote about in my book, as I’ve spoken about very openly, and- and frankly, as is recounted in aspects of the pleadings that were filed this week. From-from sometime in the middle of December, the president began to be told that I had some authority to reject or return votes back to the states. I had no such authority. No vice president in American history had ever asserted that authority and no one ever should.
Your viewers can go to Article II of the Constitution and see that it’s very clear. It says that the vice president, as president of the Senate, should preside over the House and Senate in a joint session, and that the Electoral College votes shall be opened and shall be counted. There was no discretion ever given to the vice president in history, nor should there ever be. I had no right to overturn the election and Kamala Harris will have no right to overturn the election when we beat them in 2024.
The Justice Department is currently charging Trump with obstruction, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. Each of these charges is related to Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen and his alleged efforts to overturn the results and remain in power.
Pence recalled a conversation with Trump just before Christmas in which the former president asked Pence what they should do about the election. The former vice president said:
I remember, I looked at him and I said, “Look, let all the lawsuits play out, let the Congress do their work to consider objections,” but I said at the end of the day, if the election goes the other way, I said we ought to take a bow, we ought to travel around the country. And I remember, I remember, the president is standing in front of his desk, listening very intently to me, and I’ll never forget the way he just kind of pointed at me as if to- as if to say, that’s worth thinking about. But I don’t know what was in his mind at the time.
It’s that last comment that Trump’s defense might be looking for. Much of the prosecution’s case is dependent on the idea that the former president believed his claims about the stolen election were actually false. However, some have cast doubt on whether the former president could be convicted even if he did not believe his claims about the election. In a recent op-ed, legal scholar Jonathan Turley wrote:
Under our current understanding of free speech, Democrats ranging from Hillary Clinton to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) were engaged in protected speech when they called Trump illegitimate and challenged the certification of his win, even though they knew that their challenges were completely meritless. Yet this indictment suggests that Trump engaged (and indeed still engages) in criminal conduct by insisting that the 2020 election was stolen. Presumably, it also follows that tens of millions of Americans holding that same view are also involved in spreading the same false claims underlying the indictment.
Pence noted that he does not plan to testify in the case against Trump. However, he also said he will “respond to the call of the law if it comes, and we’ll just tell the truth,” which seems to indicate that if the prosecution forces the issue, the former vice president won’t resist.
So, how is this going to play out?
It is possible that Pence’s testimony might provide damaging evidence against the former president. However, if it only involves him repeating claims he already made publicly, his testimony might not be as effective a weapon as the prosecution and Democrats are hoping.
Moreover, if the prosecution fails to deliver on its promise to prove that Trump believed his claims about the 2020 election were false, then it will probably lose on at least some of the charges. So far, it appears the case against the former president is about as flimsy as a cobweb in a windstorm. However, you never know what these people might have up their slimy little sleeves.
The prosecution is hoping that Pence will testify that Trump KNEW that he lost the election, but insisted on telling him to stop the confirmation process.
.
Pence hopes they let him quit soon.
Only idiots believe him
Hmmmmm, so President Trump’s lawyers are going to use Pence’s own book against him. This ought to be good.
Holding court in DC makes Trump GUILTY no matter what.
Pence is irrelevant where ever he goes.
“I know we all got doubts about the election. I share the concerns of millions of Americans about voting irregularities. I promise you this Wednesday we will have our day in Congress. We will hear the objections. We will hear the evidence.” Mike Pence, January 4, 2021.
Let’s be clear, all Prence was asked to do on January 6th was to recognize a point-of-order motion to address the lack of a quorum.
“The prosecution is hoping that Pence will testify that Trump KNEW that he lost the election, but insisted on telling him to stop the confirmation process.”
This morning on Face the Nation, Pence answered Margaret Brennan that Pres Trump never told him that he believed the election was honest. Pence was reluctant, but he did answer her.
Will anyone ask the question if there is a ‘political motive’ and a BUMP in the polls if Pence answers one way or the other?
Pence’s wife looking a lot like Dianne Feinstein there.
Pence can say anything he wants in his book, in public or on any Internet site without any concern for repercussion. He can lie just like Joey the Sniff.
The second Pence tries this crap Under Oath he opens himself up to charges for lying under oath. I bet his toon changes the second he is under oath. Big talk from a small man. Get Pence under oath and on the record. Watch him fold like a house of cards.
Perhaps this trial actually knocks Pence out of the primary race, but not Trump who Smith has targeted to quash his candidacy.
Some Democrats felt is was necessary to cheat for Biden to win.
The corollary to that is that many Republicans feel that Biden only won by cheating.
Some Democrats felt it was necessary to cheat for Biden to win.
The corollary to that is that many Republicans feel that Biden only won by cheating.
I don’t care who you are.
Pence’s life is not his own to live.
The beauty of the situation, is how his life is no life at all.
Every waking hour is filled with meeting the demands of his blackmailers. Told what to do, what color to dye his hair, what to say, where to say it and when to say it. If he botches any of it, he risks losing his immunity.
Furthermore, the threat of Trump regaining power and exacting his pound of flesh is right there front and center.
That’s Pence’s life. No fishing, no time off, no relaxing to a Golden Girls episode, no laughter, no music, no art, no uplifting encouraging words for others, no time care, no self love, no enjoyment of life whatsoever.
A living hell and it thrills me to watch him twist.
What’s wifey poo think of all this? Bet they got her showering in diamonds in the south of France to keep her from squeaking.
Just when you think you couldn’t hate Pence any worse you realize you can. 😏
Being part of the club is more important to most politicians than the Constitution, individual liberty, and their constituents.
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