Mike Pence and the art of staying clean – Politico
Vice President Mike Pence has so far avoided being dragged into the muck of the Russia probes that have engulfed President Donald Trump, his top aides and his family members. Its no accident.
Unlike his boss, Pences Twitter feed is silent about a Russia hoax and witch hunts. Hes denied having knowledge of critical discrepancies in Michael Flynns story gaps that have landed the former national security adviser in prosecutors crosshairs. And hes taken pains to note he wasnt even part of the Trump ticket at a controversial June 2016 meeting where a Kremlin-linked lawyer offered dirt on Hillary Clinton in a meeting with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort.
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The Vice President's office has also instituted strict rules against speaking to the press, and any staffers have to clear it with Pences new chief of staff, Nick Ayers, his communications director or press secretary before talking to reporters. And unlike in the West Wing, where staffers have taken to slinging arrows and airing unattributed grievances through the media, the rules have held firm in Pence's orbit, where infighting is rare.
While Pence has become known for his aw-shucks persona, the former Indiana governor and longtime congressman is also a cunning politician who has developed a playbook for staying clean over his decades in the spotlight.
Ryan Streeter, who served as Pences deputy chief of staff when he was governor, said Pence has a way of creating barriers between himself and wrongdoing, or even the appearance of wrongdoing.
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Streeter said Pence used to tell staffers: If theres a line you dont want to cross, you dont even walk up to it you stop three feet in front of it.
He possesses the judgment to stay away from things that can create problems later, Streeter said about Pences time as governor, which included his controversial flip on a religious freedom bill but was generally scandal-free.
That doesnt mean, however, that Pence has stayed squeaky clean in the White House or that he will be able to stay out of the Russia scandal as the probes intensify. At the very least, he will be a target for investigators eager to question key players in Trumps orbit.
Hes in the middle of something, even though he may not be in the middle of it, said Stanley Brand, a white-collar defense lawyer who represented George Stephanopolous during the special counsel investigations into President Bill Clintons Whitewater land deals.
Politically, Pences credibility on the Russia probe has taken some hits especially when his answers on Russia have been contradicted by facts that later emerged. Where hes gotten himself in trouble is making statements defending Trump, then having other facts come out, said William Jeffress, a white-collar attorney who represented Vice President Dick Cheneys chief of staff, I. Lewis Scooter Libby, during the Valerie Plame CIA leak investigation.
The contradictions have happened more than once. Pence said during the transition, for example, that Flynn had not discussed sanctions during calls with the Russian ambassador. That was later revealed to be untrue, and Pence pleaded ignorance.
Pence also defended Trumps firing of FBI director James Comey by pointing to the recommendations made by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein that were widely circulated by the White House. But Trump soon announced he would have fired Comey regardless of the recommendation, again landing Pence in an awkward spot.
And despite Pences attempts to steer clear of Russia-related landmines in the White House, his mere proximity to Trump and presence in the West Wing makes him of keen interest to investigators and its unknown what the questioning could uncover.
All the senior staff are potential grand jury witnesses, said Adam Goldberg, a former Clinton White House special associate counsel.
Pence, for example, can eventually expect to face a range of questions from special counsel Robert Mueller and others investigating the Russia probe over conversations he had during the transition period with Flynn, as well as Trumps firing of Comey.
On the Flynn front, there is a record showing Pence got a heads up about some of the retired lieutenant general's controversies through his role leading the Trump post-election transition, even though he previously claimed he wasnt aware of the activities.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent Pence a letter on Nov. 18 raising alarm about Flynns conflicts of interest, namely his work lobbying on behalf of the Turkey government and his December 2015 paid trip to Moscow. The transition team that Pence led acknowledged the letter 10 days later.
But in early March, Pence told Fox News that he was just learning of Flynns lobbying activities. Well, let me say, hearing that story today was the first Id heard of it, he said.
Pence being caught unaware also doesnt square with a Feb. 19 interview then-White House chief of staff Reince Priebus gave to NBC where he was asked about Flynns firing and the two-plus week gap between the White House knowing about the national security advisers remarks to Pence concerning sanctions and his firing.
The vice president is in the loop on everything, Priebus replied.
Vice President Mike Pence poses for a photo with his family after the unveiling of his official state portrait on Aug. 11 in Indianapolis. | AP Photo/Darron Cummings
With Comey, Pence can expect to face questions from federal and congressional investigators about what he was told by the president both before and after Trump pulled the FBI director aside in the Oval Office after a Feb. 14 meeting that had included the vice president, Priebus, Sessions and Kushner. Hes also likely to be questioned in the obstruction of justice investigation centering on Comeys firing, given that his statement about the justification clashed with Trumps.
Theres another reason Pence may be called to answer questions. In multiple interviews, hes dismissed any contact between the Trump campaign and Russian election meddlers.
Of course not, Pence said in a mid-January interview with CBS just days before the inauguration. And I think to suggest that is to give credence to some of these bizarre rumors that have swirled around the candidacy.
All the contact by the Trump campaign and associates were with the American people, he told Fox News Sunday that same day.
Recognizing the legal stakes ahead, Pence has hired a prominent lawyer, Richard Cullen, a former Virginia attorney general and U.S. attorney under President George H.W. Bush. But still unclear is how the vice president will pay for the help.
Pence is hardly wealthy. As vice president, hes making $230,700 a year, which comes on top of his May 2017 financial disclosure that show he was making $109,749 a year as Indiana governor, along with three state pensions for retirement. His wife had no income and his own bank account had between $1,001 and $15,000. Pence also had at least $105,000 in student loan debt for his childrens education.
Jarrod Agen, who recently got a promotion from communications director to deputy chief of staff, said Pence had ruled out using taxpayer funds or money raised through his political action committee to pay for his lawyer.
Legal experts say they dont think Pences legal bills have gotten too big at this early stage of the process. To start, Pence likely has provided documents to his lawyer but hasnt spent much time preparing to give testimony or answer questions under oath. You can get to $10,000 real quick and even $50,000. But I dont see Pence as incurring some huge legal bill, Jeffress said.
Pence has made one significant move that could signal an awareness of the perilous political path ahead. He recently replaced his longtime aide and chief of staff Josh Pitcock with Ayers, a 34-year-old Republican operative from Georgia who was a top Pence aide during the 2016 campaign.
The move seemed to show that, in Trumps Washington, theres more of a premium on the skills of a political knife-fighter than a policy wonk. Trumps White House, after all, does remain under a state of siege over the Russia probe, and the talk that the president could fire Mueller prompted Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham to recently warn that such a move could be the beginning of the end of the Trump administration.
Pence is not, however, in an entirely unprecedented position.
Past vice presidents from Gerald Ford to George H.W. Bush and Al Gore can attest to the challenge of maintaining ones personal political fortune and limiting legal liability while also demonstrating loyalty to a president caught in serious scandal.
Robert Bennett, a white-collar attorney who represented President Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky and Paula Jones cases, said Pence appears to be doing a fine job of navigating the situation so far.
He appears to be out of the news, so somebody is doing something right, Bennett said. Theres an old expression: Mushrooms dont get hit by lightningthats because they grow underground.
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Mike Pence and the art of staying clean - Politico