Mike Pence blames Trump’s January 6 actions on ‘bad advice from lawyers’

Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared on NBC on Sunday Meet the press in which he gave his perspective on last year’s riots at the US Capitol building.

Pence, the former Indiana governor, has made the rounds of various news programs and outlets to promote his new book. may god help me. During his Sunday interview, presenter Chuck Todd pressed him on whether he believed former President Donald Trump “committed a criminal act in fomenting the insurgency.”

In response, Pence focused on Trump’s lawyers who gave the former president “bad advice” that ultimately led to the Jan. 6 riots.

“Well, I don’t know if it’s criminal to listen to bad advice from lawyers,” Pence said. “The truth is what the President repeated was what he heard from this group of lawyers around him. Presidents, just like all of us who have served in public life, you must rely on your team, you must rely on the credibility of those around you. So I hope that over time we can move beyond that prospect. And this is truly a time for our country to heal.

Contrary to Pence’s assessment of the situation, the House inquiry into the riot found evidence that Trump knowingly pursued “illegal” means to overthrow the 2020 presidential election and was advised against such plans by trusted sources. That included a call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger a few days before Jan. 6 last year, in which he pressured the official to “find 11,780 votes” to overturn Biden’s victory in the state. Trump now faces an investigation into his alleged vote-rigging in Georgia, which some legal experts say could lead to criminal charges.

“President Trump knew from undisputed sources that his allegations of voter fraud were false,” Liz Cheney, the committee’s vice chair, a Wyoming Republican, said at the final hearing last month. “There is no defense that Donald Trump was cheated or irrational.”

Although the committee has never relieved Trump of his responsibility to make unsubstantiated voter fraud claims, the committee did divulge advice the former president received from attorney John Eastman in previous hearings. After several failed attempts to quash the results in court and pressure state officials, the committee said Eastman provided Trump with a memo detailing the possibility that Pence could overturn the election results during the certification process in Washington, DC

This last-ditch attempt to subvert the election led to last year’s “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, which led directly to the Capitol riots. Those who took part in the attack said they intended to use violence against the then-vice president for not following Eastman’s first proposed plan, with many chanting “Hang Mike Pence.”

news week reached out to House Select Committee leadership for comment.