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Cheney says 1/6 committee in discussions with Pence team

Liz Cheney
Posted at 4:07 PM, Aug 19, 2022
and last updated 2022-08-19 16:07:28-04

The House Committee investigating the attacks on the U.S. Capitol is in talks with former Vice President Mike Pence's counsel, according to Rep. Liz Cheney.

The congresswoman told ABC News that she hopes Pence will testify.

"He played a critical role on January 6. If he had succumbed to the pressure that Donald Trump was putting on him, we would have had a much worst constitutional crisis," Cheney told ABC News correspondent Jon Karl.

Pence said earlier this week that he would consider testifying before the committee. However, he noted that it would be unusual for a vice president to testify in this type of investigation.

"Under the Constitution, we have three coequal branches of government," Pence said. "Any invitation directed at me, I’d have to reflect on the unique role I was serving in as vice president. It would be unprecedented in history for a vice president to be summoned to testify on Capitol Hill."

Former President Donald Trump has railed against the committee, claiming the investigation is a "witch hunt."

Public testimony has shown Trump launched an intense pressure campaign to try to get the results of the 2020 presidential election overturned. When those efforts failed, hundreds of his supporters stormed the Capitol.

Once the Capitol was eventually cleared of the rioters, Congress returned to certify the Electoral College results and declare Joe Biden the winner.