Mike Pence Told Jan 6 Probe a Misplaced Comma Accidentally Made His Book Less Damning for Trump
Former Vice President Mike Pence reportedly told the Special Counsel investigators looking into January 6th how a misplaced comma in his book, So Help Me God, changed what he actually said to former President Donald Trump.
It’s been well documented that Pence was under enormous pressure from Trump and his legal team not to accept the certified election results, citing bogus allegations of election fraud. The Vice President deliberated on his role and ultimately did his duty to accept the results, which, in part, led to chants of “Hang Mike Pence!” by the rioters who invaded the Capitol on January 6th.
Stunning details emerge in a new book from ABC News Chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, Tired of Winning, including how Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office examined Pence’s personal notes taken before January 6th. The former VP indicated he “momentarily decided that he would skip the [Jan. 6] proceedings altogether,” per ABC News. Pence reasoned that it would be “too hurtful to my friend” before deciding it was his duty to be there.
Smith’s investigators also sought to get Pence to testify under oath about many of the claims in his book; however, a misguided comma apparently made it into the investigation. According to the ABC News report, an errant comma after “you know” changes the tenor and meaning of what he reportedly told Trump from a casual aside to a more declarative command. From ABC News:
Speaking with Smith’s team, Pence insisted his loyalty to President Trump at the time never faltered — “My only higher loyalty was to God and the Constitution,” sources described Pence as telling them.
Sources said that investigators’ questioning became so granular at times that they pressed Pence over the placement of a comma in his book: When recounting a phone call with Trump on Christmas Day 2020, Pence wrote in his book that he told Trump, “You know, I don’t think I have the authority to change the outcome” of the election on Jan. 6.
But Pence allegedly told Smith’s investigators that the comma should have never been placed there. According to sources, Pence told Smith’s investigators that he actually meant to write in his book that he admonished Trump, “You know I don’t think I have the authority to change the outcome,” suggesting Trump was well aware of the limitations of Pence’s authority days before Jan. 6 — a line Smith includes in his indictment.
Karl is a remarkably respected journalist who has long enjoyed special access to the former president. He obtained audio of Trump admitting that he had planned to go to the Capitol on January 6th, but the Secret Service would not allow it.
