Former Vice President Mike Pence called on the attorney general to address the American people on former president Donald Trump’s indictment.
In a speech at the North Carolina GOP convention, Pence said that the American people deserve to know the reason for the unprecedented action taken by the DOJ. The former Vice President asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to stop hiding behind Special Counsel Jack Smith, who carried out the investigation that led to the indictment.
Pence: Merrick Garland, stop hiding behind the special counsel and stand before the American people and explain why this indictment went forward. pic.twitter.com/VBDQDuQLpM
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 10, 2023
“Today, I am calling on the attorney general to stand before the American people and explain why this was necessary in his words,” Pence said. “Merrick Garland, stop hiding behind the special counsel and stand before the American people and explain why this indictment went forward.”
Pence, who is also running for the White House in 2024, asked the American people to pray for President Trump and his family. He also pleaded with Americans to pray for the polarized country.
Trump is facing 31 counts of alleged violations of the Espionage Act, according to an indictment unsealed on Friday.
Pence had previously expressed his displeasure at the indictment of his former boss, claiming that the news “deeply troubled” him. In an interview with talk show host Hugh Hewitt, Pence touched on the Justice Department’s politicization and the period where he and Trump’s administration fought against the “Russian Hoax.”
.@Mike_Pence: "I am deeply troubled to see this indictment move forward … Attorney General Merrick Garland, stop hiding behind the special counsel and stand before the American people and explain why this indictment went forward." pic.twitter.com/QjPfN6EPlf
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 10, 2023
“After years of politicization at the Justice Department, two and a half years in our administration where we fought against the Russia hoax that the Durham report recently confirmed was an investigation that should never even been started, and then when we saw the collusion between Big Tech and Big Media, and even the FBI to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story going into our investigation, you know, I’m deeply troubled to see this, to see this indictment move forward,” Pence told Hewitt.
Pence maintained that the indictment would only cause division in the country and send a terrible message to the rest of the world, who look up to America as a standard for democracy and Justice.
Despite Pence’s concerns, he declined to confirm if he would pardon Trump if he wins the White House in 2024.
