Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared before a federal grand jury on Thursday, May 27th, 2023 as part of the special counsel investigation into former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. The testimony could provide critical insights into Trump’s thinking in the days leading up to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Pence had previously published a memoir and a Wall Street Journal opinion article detailing some of his interactions with Trump but left some details vague. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team is particularly interested in Trump’s efforts to block the certification of the election.
The increased security presence at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. on Thursday included multiple black SUVs with tinted windows entering the parking garage in the morning. Two black SUVs entered the courthouse garage at around 9 a.m., an entrance that would allow grand jury witnesses to head up to the grand jury rooms on the third floor without being seen in the public areas of the courthouse. The SUVs left the courthouse at about 4:30 p.m. Chief Judge James Boasberg, who oversees grand jury proceedings, declined to comment on what was happening when reporters asked him.
Last month, a federal judge ordered Pence to comply with a subpoena to testify, and Trump failed in a bid to block his former vice president’s testimony. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court rejected Trump’s appeal. Pence’s appearance took place as five members of the Proud Boys awaited a verdict in a seditious conspiracy trial. During closing arguments, an attorney for former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio argued that the federal government was trying to make Tarrio a “scapegoat” for Trump, blaming the former president for the violent attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6.
🚨 MASSIVE BREAKING: Mike Pence testified TODAY before the federal grand jury in the special counsel’s probe into January 6th. This comes soon after an appeals court DENIED Trump’s attempt to block Pence’s testimony. pic.twitter.com/Rad9BZoDDz
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) April 27, 2023
