Former Vice President Mike Pence said he is not convinced that former President Donald Trump should be criminally indicted over his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.
Pence said in an interview with Dana Bash on CNN’s State of the Unio” on Sunday that Trump’s future should be decided at the ballot box, given that the Department of Justice has “lost the confidence” of the American people. Pence’s comments come after reports that special counsel Jack Smith may soon bring a second federal indictment to Trump’s doorstep.
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Trump is facing a possible third indictment for his actions during and after the 2020 election that led to the riot at the United States Capitol.
However, Pence, a current GOP presidential candidate, said that while he believes Trump asking him to overturn the 2020 election results was reckless, “based on what I know, I’m not yet convinced that they were criminal.”
“Let me be very clear: Donald Trump was wrong that day, and he’s still wrong asserting that I had the right to overturn the election,” Pence said. “But what his intentions were — and as you know, criminal charges have everything to do with intent, what the president’s state of mind was. I don’t honestly know what his intention was that day, as he spoke to the crowd, as he tweeted during the riot itself.”
“I believe that history will hold him accountable. Republican primary voters know that we need new leadership in this party … I’m absolutely convinced we are going to have a new standard bearer in this party, and we’re going to work every day to make sure it’s us,” Pence continued.
The former vice president added that, if elected president, he would clear out senior officials and appoint a new Attorney General to reinstate the people’s trust in the DOJ.
Bush pointed to an interview Trump gave on the Simon Conway Show last week, where the former president said a federal indictment would be “very dangerous” due to the level of “passion” his supporters have now compared to 2016 and 2020.
Pence brushed off concerns when asked if he believed things could turn dangerous if Trump is indicted for the third time.
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He said that what he saw on January 6 “enraged” him and that, while people can express their frustrations under their First Amendment rights, he is not worried that an indictment of the former president will spark violence or civil unrest.
“It doesn’t worry me because I have more confidence in the American people,” Pence said.
