5 Most Fascinating Details from Mike Pence’s WSJ Piece Surrounding Jan 6th

Former Vice President Mike Pence published an excerpt from his memoir – So Help Me God, which is scheduled to be released on Tuesday – about his final days with former President Donald Trump as the two differed on whether the 2020 election results could be overturned.

Here are the most five fascinating details from Pence’s excerpt, published by the Wall Street Journal, about the events surrounding Jan. 6, 2021:

1. Pence said he would support legal challenges to the 2020 election

Trump, according to Pence, was riled by an ad from the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project that said that the vice president would be “putting the final nail in the coffin” by overseeing the congressional certification of the electoral college and not overturn the results.

“During a December cabinet meeting, President Trump told me the ad ‘looked bad for you.’ I replied that it wasn’t true: I had fully supported the legal challenges to the election and would continue to do so,” wrote Pence.

During a Dec. 21 White House meeting, Pence assured Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) “that all properly submitted objections would be recognized and fully debated.”

Additionally, recalled Pence, “on Dec. 30, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley announced that he would co-sponsor election objections brought by representatives. I welcomed Sen. Hawley’s decision because it meant we would have a substantive debate. Without a senator’s support, I would have been required to dismiss House objections without debate, something I didn’t want to do.”

2. Trump assumed Pence would overturn election results

The Electoral Count Act allows for congressional challenges to presidential election results and therefore Trump thought that Pence, who as vice president overseeing the certification could unilaterally disregard the will of the electors. However, the act does not allow for that.

“By Sunday morning, the headline ‘Pence Welcomes Congressional Republicans’ Bid to Challenge Electoral Votes’ was everywhere,” wrote Pence. “When the president called me that morning, his mood had brightened. ‘You have gone from very unpopular to popular!’ he exclaimed. But then he pressed me again to reject electoral votes unilaterally. ‘You can be a historic figure,’ he said, ‘but if you wimp out, you’re just another somebody.’

3. Pence’s met with pro-Trump lawyer John Eastman on Jan. 4 and Jan. 5

Pence wrote that “Eastman argued that I should modify the proceedings, which require that electoral votes be opened and counted in alphabetical order, by saving the five disputed states until the end” and he “claimed I had the authority to return the votes to the states until each legislature certified which of the competing slate of electors for the state was correct. I had already confirmed that there were no competing electors.”

Eastman suggested that Pence could, as the former vice president wrote, “reject or return votes.”

4. Pence was insistent on not leaving the Capitol amid the riot on Jan. 6

Upon being informed of the breach, Pence and his detail went to the ceremonial vice president’s office in the Capitol. However, as Pence recalled, “my lead Secret Service agent, Timothy Giebels, walked into that crowded office and said, ‘Sir, we’ve got to get you out of the building.’ The protesters who had smashed their way into the House side of the Capitol were heading for the Senate. I later learned that many had come looking for me.”

Pence continued:

I told my detail that I wasn’t leaving my post. Mr. Giebels pleaded for us to leave. The rioters had reached our floor. I pointed my finger at his chest and said, “You’re not hearing me, I’m not leaving! I’m not giving those people the sight of a 16-car motorcade speeding away from the Capitol.”

“OK,” he answered in a voice that made it clear that it wasn’t. “Well, we can’t stay here. This office only has a glass door, and we can’t protect you.”

My daughter Charlotte, sensing my frustration, asked, “Isn’t there somewhere else dad can go that is still in the Capitol?” Mr. Giebels said we could move to the loading dock and garage, a few stories below. I agreed.

Finally, Pence and his team went to a loading dock where his motorcade was, ready to take him away from the Capitol. But Pence would have none of it as he refused to get in the car, even if it wasn’t going to drive away since “somebody would tell the driver to get us out of the building.”

5. Pence had bizarre final meetings with Trump 

On Jan. 11, Pence met with a dejected Trump, who asked how he and his wife, Karen, and Charlotte are. Pence said they were fine but that he was angry seeing what the mob did at the Capitol.

Three days later, Pence told Trump he appreciated his condemnation of the violence at the Capitol. Pence told Trump he was praying for him.

As Pence wrote:

“Don’t bother,” he said.

As I stood to leave, he said, “It’s been fun.”

“A privilege, Mr. President,” I answered.

“Yeah, with you.”

Walking toward the door leading to the hallway, I paused, looked the president in the eye, and said, “I guess we will just have to disagree on two things.”

“What?”

I referred to our disagreement about Jan. 6 and then said, “I’m also never gonna stop praying for you.”

He smiled: “That’s right—don’t ever change.