In the days before Jan. 6, 2021, President Donald Trump pressured Vice President Mike Pence to reject Joe Biden electors or delay certification and send them back to states. But those options were rejected by White House legal advisers — and even the man who pushed the faulty legal theory, John Eastman, who asked for a pardon after the Capitol attack.
The Jan. 6 select committee on Thursday showed that top Trump and Pence advisers agreed that Pence lacked the constitutional authority, as president of the Senate and while presiding over both chambers counting states’ Electoral College votes, to unilaterally determine who would be the next president.
“The answer cannot possibly be that the vice president has that authority” to reject electors or send them back to the state legislatures, Greg Jacob, Pence’s counsel, told the select committee, citing a combination of text, structure and history.
