Dem
51
GOP
49
Special Counsel Jack Smith wants to have Mike Pence over for tea and conversation. They might talk of many things, of shoes, ships, and sealing wax, perhaps, or of cabbages and kings. However, one topic that is sure to come up is the 1/6 insurrection, and Donald Trump's activities related to that incident.
Pence made a halfhearted effort to avoid Smith's subpoena, but gave up after one round in court. Trump would prefer that his former #2 not dish a bunch of #2 on him. So, the former president took up the banner, and tried to pull off his own court challenge of the subpoena. Yesterday, that failed. A three-judge panel from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals declared unanimously that they weren't buying what Trump and his lawyers are selling.
Trump could still appeal to the Supreme Court, of course, but in similar circumstances in the past, he's given up the fight at the Court of Appeals level. Even if he does appeal, SCOTUS probably wouldn't hear the matter. And even if they agreed to hear the matter, they would almost certainly tell Trump that a subpoena of Pence is none of his business, and that an ex-president can't assert executive privilege. So, Pence might as well book his hotel room for D.C., because he's going to be visiting Smith very soon. (Z)