Dem
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GOP
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Special counsel Jack Smith wants to have a word with Mike Pence, so he sent the former VP an invitation (in Latin: subpoena). Pence said: "No, thanks!", but Chief Judge of the D.C. District Court James Boasberg said he thought it would be a good idea for Pence to have that chat. Pence could have asked the D.C. Court of Appeals what it thought, but somewhat surprisingly, yesterday he said he won't fight it and will show up to see what Smith wants from him.
If Pence does talk to Smith, that could be bad news for Donald Trump. Smith undoubtedly wants to know all about the conversations Pence and Trump had about (not) certifying the electoral vote on Jan. 6, 2021. If Pence answers all the questions honestly, he could implicate Trump in multiple crimes. If Smith interviewed him with only male aides and no women in the room, he would be a very credible witness.
There is still a small chance that Trump could block Pence's testimony. He and Pence challenged the subpoena on different grounds. Trump claimed executive privilege. Pence didn't claim that. He said that when acting in his role as President of the Senate, the Constitution's speech and debate clause applied to him. Boasberg said that Pence's claim had some merit, but it only shielded him from answering questions about what happened when he was actually carrying out his duties as President of the Senate. Discussions with Trump before the morning of Jan. 6, and after the count of EVs was completed, are not protected.
Trump could still appeal, even if Pence doesn't, but the courts have not looked with favor on claims of executive privilege when they interfered with criminal cases. If Trump appeals and the appeals court bats him down, Pence will be free to talk to Smith. He will probably be the final witness. Prosecutors generally start at the bottom and work their way up. Pence is about as high as it goes other than sending Trump a subpoena. But Trump would fight like hell against that and if forced to show up, would plead the Fifth Amendment on every question, so Smith will probably stop calling witnesses as soon as he has heard from Pence. Then he could begin writing his report for AG Merrick Garland.
Pence is in an awkward situation now. He has the delusion that he is a viable presidential candidate. As such, anything he can do to disable Trump would be helpful. Telling Smith all about the crimes Trump committed could be helpful, of course. On the other hand, he needs to inherit Trump's base, and selling The Donald up the river might not be the way to get them. So once the last hurdle is removed and he makes an appointment to testify, Pence has to think carefully about what he will tell Smith. It is very unlikely he would lie. Not only will he be under oath and is aware that Smith already knows a lot from other witnesses, but Pence knows God will be hovering just above the room listening intently. Nevertheless, he (Pence, not God) could decide to answer each question truthfully but compactly and not reveal any more information than necessary. Or he could be more expansive and reveal everything he knows. For example, he could answer a question with: "Yes, that is true. And by the way, on Jan. 5 in the evening, Trump called me and said ..." We very much doubt that Smith would cut him off if he began to reveal interesting information that was not strictly the answer to a question. (V)