Special counsel probing Trump subpoenas Mike Pence
February 10, 2023
Former US vice president Mike Pence and national security advisor Robert O'Brien received subpoenas from the special counsel overseeing probes into former US president Donald Trump.
Currently, there are two ongoing investigations into Trump.
The first involves the former president's handling of highly classified documents which he retained at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving the White House in January 2021.
The second investigation is examining his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Pence is expected to give his testimony and handover the documents asked of him.
Classified documents found at Pence's residence
Pence was issued a subpoena by special counsel Jack Smith.
Smith was appointed last November to specifically oversee the investigations into Trump.
The announcement of Smith's appointment came shortly after Trump announced that he would once again seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024.
Media reports suggest that Smith is particularly interested in the exchanges between Trump and Pence around the riots that happened at the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
O'Brien has reportedly asserted executive privilege and has declined to provide some of the information sought by prosecutors.
Pence's office has yet to respond to the subpoena.
In January in the wake of classified material being found at President Joe Biden's home in Delaware, a review of Pence's personal records was conducted.
Several classified documents were discovered in Pence's Indiana home. He said that even though he was not aware, he takes "full responsibility."
Trump and Pence to lock horns again
Trump and Pence have been estranged ever since the violence caused by a mob of Trump supporters on at the US Capitol building.
The extraordinary situation of a former vice president potentially testifying against his former boss in a criminal investigation comes as Pence contemplates launching a 2024 presidential bid against Trump.
Pence served as vice president under Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021.
ns/ar (AP, Reuters, dpa)