Mike Pence Responds to Trump Indictment Over Efforts to Overturn Result of 2020 Election Transcript

Your words and your notes have been [inaudible 00:00:00] indictment yesterday against the president, your boss. Can you share the conversation that you had with him prior to January 6th, and should he be prosecuted [inaudible 00:00:13]?

You know, January 6th was a tragic day, and I’ve spoken and written about it extensively. I have nothing to hide. By God’s grace, I believe we did our duty that day, fulfilled the oath that I’d taken to the Constitution and to the American people. And the Constitution is quite clear about the role of the vice president in the counting of electoral votes. It essentially says the vice president presides over a joint session of Congress where the electoral votes that are certified by the states shall be opened and shall be counted.

(00:57)
And irrespective of the indictment, I want the American people to know that I had no right to overturn the election. And then on that day, President Trump asked me to put him over the Constitution, but I chose the Constitution, and I always will. I really do believe that anyone who puts themself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States. And anyone who asks someone else to put themselves over the Constitution should never be President of the United States again. I’ve been very forthright about this issue and I’ll continue to be. Now, with regard to the substance of the indictment, I’ve been very clear. I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.

(01:40)
I had hoped that this issue and the judgment of the president’s actions that day would be left to the American people. But now it’s been brought in a criminal indictment and I can’t assess whether or not the government has the evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt what they assert in the indictment, and the president’s entitled to a presumption of innocence. But for my part, I want people to know that I had no right to overturn the election. And that what the president maintained that day, and frankly has said over and over again over the last two and a half years, is completely false. And it’s contrary to what our Constitution and the laws of this country provide.

(02:24)
I’m a student of American history, and the first time I heard in early December somebody suggest that as vice president I might be able to decide which votes to reject and which to accept, I knew that it was false. Our founders had just won a war against a king, and the last thing they would’ve done was vest unilateral authority in any one person to decide who would be the next president. I dismissed it out of hand, but sadly, the president was surrounded by a group of crackpot lawyers that kept telling him what his itching ears wanted to hear. And while I made my case to him if what I understood my oath of the Constitution to require, the president ultimately continued to demand that I choose him over the Constitution.

(03:14)
And so in this moment, irrespective of how this case plays out, I want the American people to know that I believe with all my heart, that by God’s grace, I did my duty that day. And as I stand for the Republican nomination for president, I want them to know, whatever it means to me, I’ll always stand on the Constitution of the United States of America. Look, our country is more important than any one man. Our Constitution is more important than any one man’s career. And that’s true of me and that’s true of the former President of the United States. So we’re going to stand on the facts, and we’re going to stand by what happened that day, the stand that we took, and trust ourselves to the judgment of Republican voters and ultimately, the American people.

Sir, the statewide near-total abortion ban is still in legal limbo. What are your thoughts on that?

I’m sorry, I couldn’t quite hear you.

The state’s near-total abortion ban is still in legal limbo. What are your thoughts regarding this issue?

Well, I’m pro-life, I don’t apologize for it. And I couldn’t be more grateful to the Republican leadership and the General Assembly and to Governor Holcomb for signing historic protections for the unborn here in Indiana. I’m someone that believes that when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, that they returned the question of abortion to the states and to the American people. And I’ve been supporting efforts around the country, here in Indiana, recently in Iowa and other states that have been advancing protections for the unborn. But one of the differences in this campaign for the Republican nomination is I also believe the president and the Congress play a role in the debate over the future of the sanctity of life.

(04:59)
I’m someone that believes that while we’ll continue to champion the strongest protections possible for unborn children and strong support for women in crisis pregnancies at the state level, if I have the privilege of being President of the United States, I believe the time has come for a minimum national standard of 15 weeks. If you look at our European allies, most countries in Europe ban abortion after 12 to 15 weeks. The United States today, on a national level, our laws are more in line with Iran and China and North Korea, that support abortion on demand all the way up to the moment of birth. I’m going to be a champion for life in the White House, and I’m grateful for Indiana’s leadership. But pro-life Americans can be confident that I’ll lead from the Oval Office if I have the privilege to serve there.

You just said that you don’t think that Donald Trump should be president again. If he does become the nominee, will you get behind him?

Well, look, I’m working my heart out every day, traveling across this country to make sure that I’m the nominee of the Republican Party. And I have to tell you, I know what the polls say. But the truth is, what I’ve learned traveling around Iowa and traveling around New Hampshire and some of the other early states is that people are taking a fresh look at everybody. I think different times call for different leadership. And I remain very confident that Republican primary voters are going to give a hard look at our whole record. Not just my years as vice president, but also my years as governor of Indiana, where we balanced budgets, cut taxes, achieved record employment, stood for our traditional values, expanded educational choice. But also that I was a conservative leader in the Congress for 12 years, oftentimes fighting big spenders in my own party.

(06:50)
So, I think it’s early, but I remain very, very confident that Republican voters are going to choose. But in this moment surrounding this indictment, I just want people to know that I had no right to overturn the election. Irrespective of what President Trump and his attorneys have insisted over the last two and a half years, the Constitution and our laws are clear. And that’s a message that I’m going to continue to take to Republican voters who have heard that case and have accepted it, even though it has no basis in history or law.

[inaudible 00:07:27] called upon to testify in a criminal trial of Donald Trump, under this indictment, would you do so?

Well, I testified under a subpoena before the grand jury. I’m somebody that believes in the rule of law. But look, I have nothing to hide. I have written and spoken more extensively maybe than any other American about this topic. And Mike, I don’t want to prejudge how that case may unfold. The president’s entitled to the presumption of innocence. He’s entitled to his day in court. There are profound issues surrounding this, and I have seen the weaponization of the Justice Department over the last six and a half years. I’ve seen the Justice Department with the phony Russia hoax, with impeaching the president for a phone call, with the two-tiered system of justice that we’ve witnessed when it comes to President Biden and his family. And I understand the frustration of all of that.

(08:25)
And I had hoped that on this matter of January 6th, that it wouldn’t come to this, because I think it’s only going to further ignite the divide in the country. And so my focus is going to be not on the indictment or the merits of it. There are profound issues. The president can make his case in court. But I’m going to make it clear to the American people as I seek the Republican nomination, that despite what Donald Trump has said over the last two and a half years, that I had no right to overturn the election. And that on that day, President Trump asked me to choose him over my oath to the Constitution. But I chose the Constitution of the United States, and I always will.