WASHINGTON — Presidential hopeful and former Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday expressed doubts whether his former boss had done anything worthy of criminal charges on Jan. 6, 2021 as former President Donald Trump faces a potential third indictment for his attempts to void the 2020 election.
“I repeatedly said that the president’s words were reckless that day. I had no right to void the election,” Pence said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” referring to Trump pressuring Pence to reject the 2020 election results. “But while his words were reckless, as far as I know, I’m not yet convinced they were criminal.”
When pressed by CNN’s Dana Bash whether he thought Trump should be charged if the Justice Department had evidence the former president had committed a crime, Pence declined to answer, instead accusing federal authorities of giving “unequal treatment of the law.”
“I’ve heard time and time again from people expressing deep concern about the unequal treatment of the law,” Pence said, adding that if elected president, he would “clean house” the Justice Department.
Mike Pence: 2024 GOP primary voters want ‘new leadership’
Pence argued Trump was “always wrong” for his actions before and during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, but said he believed “history will hold him accountable,” suggesting Trump may not be the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election.
“I believe Republican primary voters know we need new leadership in this party,” Pence said. In several key early-vote states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, Trump remained the frontrunner in the GOP presidential field.
Pence argued that the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, some of whom chanted “hang Mike Pence,” were a small minority of conservative voters.
“The people in this movement, the people who rallied to our cause in 2016 and 2020 are the most God-fearing, law-abiding, and patriotic people in this country,” Pence said.
What could Trump be charged with in relation to January 6?
Trump could soon be indicted for his efforts to nullify the 2020 election after receiving a letter from Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith informing him that he was the target of the department’s investigation.
It’s unclear what Trump might be charged with given the investigation spanning Trump’s actions leading up to the Capitol attack, including his efforts to undo his losses in key battleground states and whether he incited rioters to attack the Capitol.
Related: Another federal indictment threatens to engulf Donald Trump and his presidential campaign
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pence ‘not convinced’ Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 conduct was criminal