Report: Mike Pence Was Warned Blocking Jan. 6 Vote Certification Would Violate Law, Changed His Mind

Earlier, the New York Times reported that on January 5, 2021, the US vice president's chief of staff contacted his top Secret Service agent to warn that US President Donald Trump might publicly lash out at his second in command, jeopardizing Mike Pence's security over what was seen as pressure to stop the certification of the 2020 election results.

Former US Vice President Mike Pence's senior lawyer said in a document the day before January 6, 2021, that if he surrendered to the purported pressure from President Donald Trump to interfere with the certification of the 2020 election results, he would be breaking federal law, Politico reported on Saturday.

The three-page memo obtained by the outlet included arguments from Pence's chief counsel, Greg Jacob, that if he decided to block the certification of the Electoral College results unilaterally or by calling for a 10-day delay in the proceedings, he could find himself in a legally precarious situation - "with no neutral arbiter available to break the impasse."

As January 6 approached, a lawyer assisting Trump, John Eastman, reportedly contended that Pence had the authority to conduct both of those actions, emphasizing the 10-day halt. Eastman is said to have pushed his point of view in an Oval Office meeting with Pence and Jacob on January 4.

Pence, on the other hand, was given clear advice by his own advisers after telling Trump in the weeks following the election that he did not believe he had such power but would continue examining the topic. Jacob said in the memo that if Pence took such a step in favor of the president's claims, the courts would almost certainly overrule him.

"In a best-case scenario in which the courts refused to get involved, the vice president would likely find himself in an isolated standoff against both houses of Congress, as well as most or all of the applicable state legislatures, with no neutral arbiter available to break the impasse,” he wrote.

Jacob's message is dated January 5 and is titled "Analysis of Professor Eastman's Proposals." However, Jacob reportedly told the House select committee investigating the Capitol Riot n February that he wrote the most of his memo in reaction to a difficult initial meeting with Eastman - the day before rioters stormed the Capitol.

According to the memo, Eastman pressured Pence to take a different approach: postponing the count. He asked Pence to declare a few of the states' election results disputed and to adjourn the joint congressional session until the legislatures in those states could address the issue.

"Here, however, no State legislature has appointed or certified any alternate slate of electors,” Jacob noted, “and Professor Eastman acknowledges that most Republican legislative majorities in the States have signaled they have no intention of doing so."

The document reportedly influenced Pence's decision to reject Trump's urge to overturn the election results. When Pence arrived at the Capitol to preside over the House and Senate meeting on January 6, he revealed his decision. In a letter that nearly mirrored Jacob's memo, he enraged thousands of Trump supporters who had gathered in Washington to protest the president's defeat.

Hundreds of members of that crowd would pound their way past police lines and into the Capitol within an hour of Pence's statement, sending the vice president and members of Congress fleeing for safety. "Hang Mike Pence," yelled some of the crowd.

Jacob is set to testify in front of the House select committee regarding Pence's decision to defy Trump's alleged pressure campaign.

Following its prime-time hearing this week, the House committee investigating the Capitol riot will have three additional hearings next week, one of which will feature Jacob as a major witness on Thursday, per reports. The focus of the session is expected to be on the pressure campaign implemented against Pence.