Raskin says he expects Pence to testify before Jan. 6 committee

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Sunday said he expects former Vice President Mike Pence to testify before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“Vice President Pence was the target of Donald Trump’s wrath and fury and effort to overthrow the election on January 6, the whole idea was to get Pence to step outside his constitutional role, and then to declare unilateral lawless powers to reject Electoral College votes from the states,” Raskin, a member of the Jan. 6 committee, said on CBS “Face the Nation.”

“I think he has a lot of relevant evidence, and I would hope he would come forward and testify about what happened,” Raskin said.

Pressed on options to force Pence to appear before the committee, Raskin said that a subpoena isn’t out of the question for Pence or any other potential witness, “but I would assume he’s going to come forward and testify voluntarily, the way the vast majority of people have.”

Pence said last month that he would consider an invitation to appear before the committee, but said he’d have to “reflect on the unique role” he was serving as then-second in command and the “unprecedented” move for a vice president to testify on Capitol Hill.

The committee has long noted Pence as a key Jan. 6 figure, a target of former President Trump’s and his supporters during the Capitol riot.

Trump pressured Pence to disregard Electoral College votes from Biden-won states and use his ceremonial role in the election certification process to help Trump to victory.

Some rioters in the Capitol that day called for the then-vice president to be hanged, and Pence’s security detail later told the committee that they feared for their lives during the rioting.

Raskin also said Sunday the committee is expected to release its much-anticipated report on its Jan. 6 findings by the end of this year.

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