Former Vice President Mike Pence doesn’t think Donald Trump should be indicted for his Jan. 6 activities, and he seems to be basing his reasoning, in part, on bad Christmas movie scripts and not on actual legal theory.
The House committee investigating the insurrection is making its final public presentation Monday about Trump’s unprecedented effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
But Pence told Fox News on Monday that he hopes the Justice Department doesn’t indict his former boss for his role inciting the Capitol Hill riot because of what he claims is a “partisan taint.”
“Congress has no formal role in Justice Department decisions, so they can make recommendations today,” Pence said. “But when it comes to the Justice Department’s decision about bringing charges in the future, I would hope that they would not bring charges against the former president.”
Pence then suggested that Trump’s only “crime” was picking bad attorneys.
“The president’s actions and words on Jan. 6 were reckless, but I don’t know that it’s criminal to take bad advice from lawyers,” Pence said.
Pence then tried to suggest the DOJ shouldn’t be Grinches by following the pesky rule of law when it is, after all, Christmas, before deciding to indict Trump.
“I think that would be terribly divisive in the country at a time when the American people want to see us heal,” Pence said. “At this time of year, we’re all thinking about the most important things in our lives: our faith, our family. And my hope is, the Justice Department think very carefully before proceeding.”
You can watch the exchange below.
Many Twitter users weren’t impressed by Pence’s comments, including two former Republican congressmen.
Other Twitter users weren’t impressed either.
Pence has spent much of his time trying to appeal to Trump’s MAGA base while also trying to make his own mark as a viable Republican candidate.
In the process, he’s gone to extremes, from demanding Trump apologize for hosting white supremacist organizer Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago and avoiding giving a straight answer after being asked if he still considered the former president to be a “good man” to admitting voters have better choices than reelecting his old boss.