Donald Trump has told the committee investigating the Capitol riot that it should be probing the actions of his former vice president. In a statement, the former president—referring to the House panel as the "Unselect Committee of political hacks, liars, and traitors"—said the Jan. 6 violence could have been avoided if Mike Pence had rejected the Electoral College results, the Hill reports. Trump claimed Pence "could have sent the votes back to various legislators for reassessment after so much fraud and irregularities were found." Investigators have found no evidence of irregularities that could have affected President Biden's victory.
Trump also slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying she failed to follow his recommendation to up Capitol building security that day. The panel should be investigating why she "did such as poor job of overseeing security and why Mike Pence did not send back the votes for recertification or approval, in that it has now been shown that he clearly had the right to do so!" Over the weekend, Trump claimed that Pence, who was escorted from the Capitol for his own safety when Trump supporters stormed the building, had the power to overturn the results.
Pence is expected to defend his decision to certify Biden's win in a speech in Florida on Friday. Henry Olsen at the Washington Post argues that Pence should use the moment to finally directly criticize his former boss and address Trump's false election claims head-on. "We already know that Trump thinks Pence was a coward on Jan. 6," Olsen writes. "What better rebuke than to show courage when it is least expected and take the battle home to the bully." In other Jan. 6 panel news, sources tell ABC that former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who was around Trump before and during the attack, has turned over text messages to the committee. (More Donald Trump stories.)
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