 |
| credit: Tom Tomorrow Wackydoodle sez: He's better than Al Capone! |
Finally, the Special Counsel investigating the historic insurrection of January 6th, has subpoenaed former VP Mike Pence, something the January 6th Committee of the House did not do. Pence participated in two critical phone calls with Trumpillini in which the would-be dictator attempted to coerce him into rejecting the Electoral College votes from swing states without a legal basis for doing so. His furious boss called him "weak" and a "wimp" during the calls in the evening of January 5th and the morning of January 6th, prior to the ceremonial counting in a congressional joint session.
Having failed to convince a normally pliable Pence he had the power to overturn the election, Trump was reduced to relying on the mob he incited to march on the Capitol to delay the peaceful transfer of power. While the mob was at the Capitol, Trump tweeted, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.” That tweet appeared to motivate the insurrectionists storming the building.
Pence's testimony will put first-hand evidence of Trumpillini's criminal intent on record under oath. Versions of his conversations appear in Bob Woodward's book, Peril, and in Pence's own memoire. One of the alleged reasons for the House Select Committee not subpoenaing Pence earlier, was that it did not want to become embroiled in protracted litigation over executive privilege. Pence refused to appear without a subpoena. That litigation is still a distinct possibility with the federal grand jury. However, a grand jury's subpoena in a criminal investigation carries more weight under the law, and some legal experts think privilege is a loosing argument since the conversations involved the commission of a crime by a former president, not official government business, and Pence has publicly revealed the communications' content.
Prosecutors appear to be focusing on the scheme to replace electors awarded to Biden with electors fraudulently pledged to Trump. Subpoenas have been issued to state election officials demanding evidence of communications with Trump or his campaign aides. DOJ successfully secured answers from top Pence advisers Greg Jacob and Marc Short in significant court victories that will make it more likely the criminal investigation reaches further into Trump’s inner sanctum where omertà still reigns.
credit: D. Chappette