US Justice
Pence hopes Trump won’t be charged
The then US President Donald Trump makes a press statement in the White House, in the background his Vice President Mike Pence. photo
© Susan Walsh/AP/dpa
In the investigation into the Capitol storm, an indictment against ex-President Trump could be imminent. At that time, the mob also shouted “Hang Pence” – but his former deputy is ambivalent.
Former US Vice President and current Republican presidential candidate Mike Pence is critical of a possible third indictment against his ex-boss Donald Trump in connection with the Capitol attack. Trump’s words on January 6, 2021 were “reckless,” but he was “not yet convinced they were criminal,” Pence told CNN. With a view to a possible indictment against the ex-president, which observers and Trump himself are expecting soon, Pence said: “I really hope that it doesn’t come to that.”
Pence complained that there was already great concern among the American population that the US judiciary was treating people unequally. With regard to the Justice Department’s legal action against Trump, he warned that people no longer had trust in the ministry. Pence announced that if he were elected President, he would replace not only the Attorney General, but all of the department’s senior management. Like Trump, Pence is running for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2024 election.
baiting the deputy
On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters stormed the Congressional seat in Washington, while Pence was in the chair to confirm Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. In the weeks after the election, Trump had stirred up sentiment with false claims that voter fraud had stolen his victory – and he had blatantly called on Vice Pence to delay the formal confirmation of the Biden victory at the congressional session. When Pence publicly denied this, Trump also incited his supporters against his deputy. At the time, the mob was shouting “Hang Pence”.
The Justice Department had appointed a special counsel to investigate Trump’s role in the election and the Capitol attack. The investigator recently formally informed Trump that he was the target of the investigation, and he called on the ex-president to comment on the matter to the responsible jury. Experts and Trump himself therefore expect indictments to be brought against the ex-president soon. When that could come is unclear. There is no official information. Charges have already been brought against Trump in two other cases in New York and Miami.