Former Vice President Mike Pence refuted one of former President Donald J. Trump’s main defenses against charges of endangering national security. Pence stated in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” that he was not aware of any widespread declassification of documents by Trump during their time in the White House together. Trump has claimed that he issued a “standing order” to declassify papers and that any documents he brought home were automatically declassified. However, Pence’s recollections align with those of other former White House officials, including Mark Meadows, Trump’s last White House chief of staff. They have all denied knowledge of such an order. Additionally, 18 former administration officials, including John F. Kelly and Mick Mulvaney, have also stated that they were not aware of any declassification order. Trump’s claim has only been made in public appearances and not in court papers, suggesting a lack of legal validity. Interestingly, when classified documents were found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, he claimed they were already declassified. The indictment filed by special counsel Jack Smith in Federal District Court in Florida includes evidence that Trump was aware the documents were not declassified. Despite these developments, Pence, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination next year, has been cautious in criticizing Trump. However, he has recently derided the former president’s reliance on “crackpot lawyers” in attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Pence has also expressed his unwillingness to comment on ongoing legal proceedings involving Trump. It is important to note that Trump remains innocent until proven guilty and is entitled to his day in court. Jonathan Swan contributed reporting.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
