According to a new CNN report, Mark Short, former US Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, testified to the US House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol last Wednesday. Short and his counsel had been negotiating for months before giving the lengthy in-person testimony.
Due to his proximity to both former US President Donald Trump and former US Vice President Mike Pence in the run-up to the deadly January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Short is seen as a key witness by the Select Committee.
Short’s participation in a January 4, 2021 meeting in which Trump and attorney John Eastman attempted to persuade the then-vice president to overturn the presidential election results is of particular relevance to the committee. Pence could upset election results in numerous critical states and compel the election to go through the House of Representatives, according to Eastman’s memo.
As per Sputniknews, the committee’s inquiry has become increasingly focused on Trump’s push on Pence to change the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) has stated that he expects Pence will be called to testify, although no formal request has been made. According to sources, Pence is hoping that the testimony of aides will satisfy the committee and eliminate the need for him to testify.
Trump was enraged by Pence’s decision to follow the law, putting his chances of running for president in 2024 in jeopardy.
“He could have overturned the Election!” Trump claimed Pence.
Prior to interrogating Short, the committee questioned retired General Keith Kellogg, Pence’s former national security adviser. Trump attempted to push Pence into overturning the results, according to Kellogg’s testimony.
“You’re not tough enough to make the call,” Trump taunted Pence, Kellogg told the committee at the time.
Kellogg’s testimony corresponds to what Trump said on his now-deleted Twitter account.
On January 6, 2021, Trump tweeted: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and our Constitution, giving states a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certified. The USA demands the truth!”
Short’s testimony has remained a closely guarded secret. Short and a committee representing both declined to comment on the investigation’s specifics.