Pence Calls on Republicans to Stop Assailing the F.B.I. After Mar-a-Lago Search
Former Vice President Mike Pence also said he would consider talking to the Jan. 6 committee if he were “summoned to testify.”
Send any friend a story
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.
By Alan Feuer and Luke Broadwater
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday called on Republicans to stop attacking the nation’s top law enforcement agencies over the F.B.I.’s search of Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald J. Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., home.
Congressional Republicans, including members of leadership, have reacted with fury to the Aug. 8 search, which is part of an investigation into Mr. Trump’s handling of classified material. Some lawmakers have called to “defund” or “destroy” the F.B.I., even as more moderate voices have chastised their colleagues for their rhetoric.
Speaking at a political event in New Hampshire, Mr. Pence said that Republicans could hold the Justice Department and the F.B.I. accountable for their decisions “without attacking the rank-and-file law enforcement personnel.”
“Our party stands with the men and women who stand on the thin blue line at the federal and state and local level, and these attacks on the F.B.I. must stop,” Mr. Pence went on. “Calls to defund the F.B.I. are just as wrong as calls to defund the police.”
The remarks by Mr. Pence, who appears to be positioning himself to run for president, highlight his readiness to separate himself from the wing of the Republican Party most loyal to Mr. Trump. They also illustrate the political dangers in criticizing a law enforcement agency, particularly for a party that purportedly bills itself as defenders of law and order.
More Coverage of the F.B.I. Search of Trump’s Home
The calls for a more cautious tone came as threats emerged against law enforcement. A gunman attacked an F.B.I. office in Cincinnati last week, and the Department of Homeland Security distributed an intelligence bulletin to law enforcement around the country that warned of “an increase in threats and acts of violence” after the Mar-a-Lago search.
Mr. Pence also said on Wednesday that he would consider talking to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — the clearest indication to date that he might be willing to participate in the panel’s ongoing efforts. The panel is set to resume public hearings on its findings next month.
Mr. Pence has rarely spoken publicly about how he would respond to a request from the committee to be interviewed, but his lawyers began talking with the panel as early as last summer, indicating that they were unsure of what Mr. Pence might do.
“If there was an invitation to participate, I would consider it,” Mr. Pence said. But adding a note of caution, Mr. Pence went on to say it would be “unprecedented in history” for a vice president “to be summoned to testify on Capitol Hill.”
In recent weeks, the panel has been discussing what to do about some of the more high-profile potential witnesses, like Mr. Pence or Mr. Trump himself, and lawmakers have not reached a conclusion about how to proceed with either man.
Source: Read Full Article
