There was a time, not that long ago, when it wouldn’t have been major news for a top Republican to say the party should respect law enforcement and cooperate with a congressional investigation. In that sense, the buzz over former Vice President Mike Pence’s defense this week of the FBI, and his suggestion he might be willing to testify before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, illustrates just how radical and lawless too many other Republicans have become in the Trump era.
It is only in this party, in these frenzied times, that such a bare-minimum acknowledgment of political norms would merit comment, let alone kudos. But, under the circumstances, it does.
In a speech in New Hampshire, Pence broke with the feverish rhetoric of those in his party who are trashing FBI agents involved in the search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence. Armed with a court order, the agents were seeking classified documents that Trump took from the White House and was refusing to give back, even after months of negotiations and a subpoena.
