Struggling Republican candidate Mike Pence likely to be a star witness in Trump's Jan. 6 trial

Trailing former President Donald Trump in the polls by nearly 50 points, Mike Pence stands little chance of politically taking down his former running mate. However, he may yet pose Trump some trouble, as he is likely to take the stand as a star witness in Trump's Jan. 6 trial.

The indictment features Pence prominently and makes mention of the secret notes he took in real time concerning private conversations he had with Trump ahead of the Jan. 6 protests.

What's the background?

Trump was indicted earlier this week on four criminal charges related to his alleged attempt to undo the 2020 election.

The charges are as follows: conspiracy to defraud the U.S.; conspiracy to impede an official proceeding (i.e., the Jan. 6, 2021, certification of the electoral vote); obstructing and impeding the certification of the electoral vote; and conspiracy "to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate one or more persons in the free exercise and enjoyment of" the right to vote and have one's vote counted.

Trump, the Republican front-runner going into the 2024 election, pleaded not guilty to all charges.

His trial will be overseen by U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, an Obama-appointed judge who used to be a partner at Hunter Biden's former law firm.

In the 45-page indictment penned by the Biden DOJ's special counsel Jack Smith, Pence is prominently cast as the protagonist who rejected Trump's "knowingly false claims" of election fraud and thwarted the will of those who allegedly sought to overturn the election result.

Despite allegedly rejecting Trump's concerns about election fraud, Pence has repeatedly raised doubts about the integrity of the 2020 election, including in a March 3, 2021, op-ed in the Daily Signal, in which he said the election was "marked by significant voting irregularities and numerous instances of officials setting aside state election law."

Nevertheless, he may end up being the Biden Department of Justice's star witness in Trump's Jan. 6 trial.

The Biden DOJ's star witness

The indictment references Pence's "contemporaneous notes" and provides detailed accounts of private conversations, including:

• a phone call with Trump on Christmas Day 2020, when "the defendant quickly turned the conversations to Jan. 6 and his request that the Vice President reject electoral votes that day";
• a Dec. 29, 2020, conversation in which Trump allegedly told Pence that the "Justice Dept was finding major infractions"; and
• a Jan. 1, 2021, conversation in which Trump allegedly berated Pence over his refusal to return votes to the states at the Jan. 6 certification.

It's unclear how many private conversations Pence surreptitiously recorded, though the New York Times reported that the transcript of his testimony to a Washington grand jury released last month featured 18 consecutive pages that were blacked out.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) claimed Thursday that the Jan. 6 committee was not previously aware that Pence took these notes in real time, adding, "That he did that is going to be very important in terms of his testimony."

The Telegraph noted that Pence's secret notes will likely prove helpful to prosecutors in establishing Trump's state of mind at the time — critical since they will have to demonstrate criminal intent, "specifically, that he knew the claims he was spreading about the election being fraudulent were false."

John Lauro, a lawyer for Trump, said, "We expect that he [Mr. Pence] will be a witness."

Lauro added, "Mr. Pence is a lawyer. Not once did he say 'Mr. Trump, what you're asking me is criminal, don't do that.'"

Former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz told the Washington Times that the value of Pence's testimony for the prosecution depends on whether he can show Trump believed Biden had actually won the election.

"If he swears that Trump admitted that he lost fair and square, that would be compelling," said Dershowitz. "I doubt that's true."

Political advantage and backlash

Pence seized upon Trump's indictment this week, suggesting that it is disqualifying for his top Republican rival.

The struggling candidate said in a Tuesday statement, "Today's indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States. ... The former president is entitled to the presumption of innocence but with this indictment, his candidacy means more talk about January 6th and more distractions."

Pence attempted to distinguish himself from his rival on the basis of the allegations in the indictment, writing, "Our country is more important than one man. Our constitution is more important than any one man’s career. On January 6th, Former President Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution. I chose the Constitution and I always will."

He then indicated what he might do if he ever managed to escape fourth place in the Republican running and defeat President Joe Biden in the general election

While Pence's remarks have attracted a great deal of ridicule online, Trump responded on Truth Social with pity, writing, "I feel badly for Mike Pence, who is attracting no crowds, enthusiasm, or loyalty from people who, as a member of the Trump Administration, should be loving him."

Trump added, "He didn’t fight against Election Fraud, which we will now be easily able to prove based on the most recent Fake Indictment & information which will have to be made available to us, finally ― a really BIG deal. The V.P. had power that Mike didn’t understand, but after the Election, the RINOS & Dems changed the law, taking that power away!"

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