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DOJ Seeking to Question Pence in Criminal Probe of Trump Trying to Stay in White House, Report Says

House Select Committee | AP

In this image from video released by the House Select Committee, Vice President Mike Pence looks at a phone rom his secure evacuation location on Jan. 6 that is displayed as House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing Thursday, June 16, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

  • The Department of Justice wants to question former Vice President Mike Pence for its criminal probe of ex-President Donald Trump's efforts to remain in the White House after he lost the 2020 election, The New York Times reported.
  • Pence is considering cooperating with the probe, which last week saw Attorney General Merrick Garland appoint a special counsel to oversee the investigation, according to the Times.
  • Pence previously refused to cooperate with the select House committee that is investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks during an event to promote his new book at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank on October 19, 2022 in Washington, DC.

The Department of Justice wants to question former Vice President Mike Pence for its criminal investigation of ex-President Donald Trump's efforts to remain in the White House after he lost the 2020 election, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Pence is considering cooperating with the probe, which last week saw Attorney General Merrick Garland appoint a special counsel to oversee the investigation, according to the Times.

Pence previously refused to cooperate with the select House committee that is investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

"Thomas Windom, one of the lead investigators examining the efforts to overturn the election, reached out to Mr. Pence's team in the weeks before" Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith for that probe, the Times reported.

The Republican Trump, since losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, has falsely claimed he won the race, and that the Democrat's victory was the result of widespread ballot fraud in several swing states.

A mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and disrupted for hours a joint session of Congress that was meeting to certify Biden's Electoral College win.

Pence was presiding over that session when rioters swarmed through the Capitol. He was taken to a secure location within the complex as police battled the mob.

Read the full New York Times story here.

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