Mike Pence’s Real Reason for Challenging His Trump Special Counsel Subpoena
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On Tuesday, it was reported that former Vice President Mike Pence will challenge special counsel Jack Smith’s subpoena surrounding the events of Jan. 6. Former President Donald Trump’s “quiet coup” in the lead-up to Jan. 6 failed when Pence refused to do Trump’s bidding in rejecting or delaying the certification of President Joe Biden’s election.
The legal claim Pence reportedly intends to make should go nowhere. Even his own written statements fatally undermine it. That suggests another motive. It’s no mystery that as a potential presidential candidate, he doesn’t want to offend Trump’s ponderous Republican base.
Pence’s reported claim to be free from an obligation to testify comes under the Constitution’s “speech and debate” clause. It provides that “Senators and representatives … shall not be questioned in any other Place” than Congress about “any Speech or Debate in either House.” Courts have regularly made clear, however, that the protection extends only to questioning about legislative acts.
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