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Former vice president Mike Pence has filed a motion asking a judge to block a federal grand-jury subpoena for his testimony relating to January 6. His legal team is arguing that he is protected by the Constitutions speech or debate clause.

A source told CNN that the motion was filed Friday night. Special counsel Jack Smith is seeking documents and testimony related to January 6, 2021, and wants Pence to testify about his interactions with Trump leading up to the 2020 election and the day of the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Attorney General Merrick Garlandappointed Smith in November to oversee the investigation into the alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and Trumps alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Whereas many would expect Pence to assert executive privilege as a former member of the second branch, Pences team has decided to go a different route, claiming legislative privilege. According to his team, Pence was also acting as president of the Senate on January 6, meaning he is shielded by the Constitutions speech-or-debate clause, which protects lawmakers from certain law-enforcement actions targeted at their legislative duties.

As president of the Senate, the vice president breaks ties when the chamber is deadlocked. Every four years in January, he or she also leads the electoral-vote count that facilitates the transfer of power from one administration to the next.

It is admittedly a constitutionally murky area with no clear outcome, explained political scientist Mark Rozell to Politico. Since there is a legislative function involved in the vice president presiding over the Senate, a court very well could decide that it must address the scope of the speech or debate privilege and whether it would apply in this case.

Efforts to resist the subpoena could be complicated by the release of Pences memoir detailing his interactions with Trump leading up to January 6. His team previously indicated to the Justice Department that hed be open to answering questions if they were limited to the matters he had previously discussed publicly.

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Also on Friday, former president Donald Trump filed a separate, sealed motion attempting to prevent Pence from speaking to a grand jury on certain matters related to the probe on the grounds of executive privilege, as first reported by CNN. The motion argues that the president can shield aides from sharing internal communications.

However, some observers say Pences motion may prove to be more effective. Executive privilege has limits that can be overcome in criminal proceedings, while protections from the Constitutions speech-or-debate clause have remained mostly impenetrable.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard arguments in February in a similar case. Representative Scott Perry (R., Pa.) is attempting to shield access to his cellphone from January 6 investigators. He too is asserting legislative privilege.

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Mike Pence Asks Judge to Block Subpoena for January 6 Testimony

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who was subpoenaed last month by the special counsel overseeing investigations into former President Donald Trump relating to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, filed a motion on Friday to block the subpoena, according to reports.

CNN reported that a source familiar with the filing claimed Pence filed the motion on the basis that the U.S. Constitutions Speech or Debate clause protects him from providing testimony related to Jan. 6.

Former Vice President Mike Pence delivers a speech at The Heritage Foundation titled The Freedom Agenda and America's Future, in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, October 19, 2022. ((Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images))

The former VP has argued the subpoena was "unconstitutional and unprecedented," and he told reporters in February during a gaggle in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that his efforts to fight the subpoena are evidence of the "double standard" Republicans face.

PENCE RIPS 'TWO-TIERED JUSTICE SYSTEM' AS HE FIGHTS BIDEN DOJ SUBPOENA

"I'm going to fight the Biden DOJ subpoena for me to appear before the grand jury because I believe it's unconstitutional and it's unprecedented," Pence told reporters at the time. "Never before in American history has a vice president been summoned to appear in court to testify against the president with whom they serve."

Representatives for Pence did not immediately respond to questions regarding the filing.

Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the National Press Club on Nov. 30, 2021 in Washington. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Pences motion, which CNN said was filed as part of sealed proceedings, aims at placing a halt on his testimony as it relates to his duties as a legislator at the time of the riot.

TRUMP CALLS PENCE A VERY HONORABLE MAN AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH SUBPOENA

Pence has stated that his fight is on the principle of separation of powers and the Constitution, and that he "had no right" to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election during a joint meeting of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

He argued the Speech or Debate Clause in the Constitution prohibits him from being compelled by the Biden administration to appear in court, adding that he will fight the subpoena on that principle all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.

The subpoena came after months of negotiations between the former VPs legal team and federal prosecutors.

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Special Counsel Jack Smith, who filed the subpoenae for Pences testimony, is looking into both documents and testimony related to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, as well as Trumps possible mishandling of classified documents after leaving office.

Brandon Gillespie of Fox News contributed to this report.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Excerpt from:
Former Vice President Mike Pence files motion to block Jan. 6 subpoena ...

Well, he had his moment. Ever since he presided over the certification of the president's win on January 6, 2021, Mike Pence has made a life's work out of scarpering. He's always had hands like a hippo when it comes to politics, so he has absolutely no chance of running the double game of capitalizing on his big moment while still observing general omerta on behalf of his former boss. He doesn't have the finesse for that play. Maybe nobody does; but in Pence's case, it's like watching a toddler juggling chainsaws. As we learned on Monday, when Pence decided to fight a subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith. From CNN:

Yes, friends, Mike Pencewho for four years was our only vice president and who already has written about the events of January 6 in his widely unread memoiris arguing that he is covered by a privilege derived from the legislative branch, while his former boss is arguing he's protected by a privilege from an entirely separate branch. (How testifying about the events that led up to calls for his lynching qualifies as either "speech or debate" is a mystery to me.) There is absolutely no way this ploy should get any run from any judge who isn't asleep or dead. A while back, conservative former Judge J. Michael Luttig shredded Pence's strategy in The New York Times. Luttig was particularly good at dismantling Pence's claim that the subpoena was "unprecedented." Of course it is, Luttig notes, because the previous presidency* was.

The saddest thing about this situation is that I believe Pence is going through all these legal gymnastics partly to keep alive his prospects for 2024, which approximate those of Marianne Williamson, Lady Gaga, and Trigger. The moment he did his duty, he doomed himself in any future Republican primary. His GOP elephant is wandering the landscape with a bullet in its brain, waiting to fall over for good. And hardly anyone will notice.

Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children.

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Mike Pence Fights Special Counsel Subpoena for Jan. 6 Testimony

Former President Donald J. Trump has filed a motion asking a federal judge to prevent his former vice president, Mike Pence, from testifying to a grand jury about specific issues that Mr. Trump is claiming are protected by executive privilege, a person briefed on the matter said.

The filing is unsurprising Mr. Trumps lawyers have repeatedly sought to assert executive privilege over former aides as a means of blocking testimony but it underscores how much the Justice Departments attempts to get Mr. Pence to testify in the investigation into Mr. Trumps efforts to cling to power may be drawn out.

The sealed filing was made on Friday, according to the person briefed on the matter. Its existence was reported earlier by CNN. A spokesman for Mr. Trump did not respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Pence was recently subpoenaed for grand jury testimony after negotiations between his team and the Justice Department over his appearance came to an impasse, people briefed on the matter said. Mr. Pence is a key potential witness in the investigation, as the person Mr. Trump pressured repeatedly to thwart the certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.s Electoral College victory by Congress.

Mr. Trump took his pressure campaign public several times, including on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the congressional session, which Mr. Pence had a ceremonial role in overseeing. At a rally near the White House before it began, Mr. Trump publicly pressured Mr. Pence and then directed his supporters to go to the Capitol in protest.

The pro-Trump mob ultimately overran the Capitol building, with some chanting, Hang Mike Pence!

The New York Times reported earlier that the Justice Department had filed what amounted to a pre-emptive move to say executive privilege did not apply, seeking to compel Mr. Pences testimony in the matter. Before that motion was filed, Mr. Trumps lawyers had sent a letter to prosecutors saying they were not going to waive executive privilege with regard to Mr. Pences testimony.

Mr. Pence has said he will try to fight the subpoena, but has indicated it will be under the speech or debate clause of the Constitution, which applies to legislators. His argument is under the auspices of his role as president of the Senate.

How Times reporters cover politics.We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause.

The investigation is being led by a special counsel, Jack Smith, whose aggressive moves to advance the case have contrasted with the Justice Departments handling of the Jan. 6-related investigation previously.

But it is unclear how quickly it will be settled. The matter could take months, at a time when Mr. Trump is a presidential candidate for the Republican nomination and Mr. Pence is considering a campaign of his own.

Mr. Trumps lawyers also sought to block testimony by two of Mr. Pences top aides: his former chief counsel Greg Jacob and his former chief of staff Marc Short. The privilege disputes have been dealt with by the chief federal judge in Washington, Judge Beryl A. Howell, who is stepping down this month and will be replaced by a new chief judge.

In the cases of Mr. Jacob and Mr. Short, she ruled that they had to testify on issues that Mr. Trump had sought to shield through executive privilege, people briefed on the matter said at the time.

Grand jury subpoenas in the Jan. 6 case were also recently issued to Mr. Trumps daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner. It remains unclear whether Mr. Trump will seek to assert executive privilege there.

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Trump Asks Judge to Block Pences Testimony to Grand Jury

Former Vice President Mike Pence still won't say whether he's running for president next year, and he won't speak ill of his ex-boss, former President Donald Trump. But in an interview with CBS News in Michigan on Wednesday, he also twice declined to commit to supporting Trump if he is the Republican presidential nominee.

Instead, Pence said he believes voters in 2024 will choose "wisely again," as they did in 2016. But said he thinks "different times call for different leadership."

"I'm very confident we'll have better choices come 2024," he told CBS News political correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns. "And I'm confident our standard-bearer will win the day in November of that year."

But if Pence does run, he's offering a vision of conservative principles and Trump-era like policies without the Trump-era personality. The former vice president said his message in a speech to young voters in Michigan Wednesday was to "resist the temptation of focusing on personalities or embracing a populism unmoored to conservative principle."

"You know, I joined the Republican Party in the days of Ronald Reagan, and I really believe that the conservative movement has always been animated by ideas," Pence said. "We've had big personalities, from Reagan all the way to Donald Trump. But I think it's the ideas of commitment to a strong national defense, fiscal responsibility, limited government and traditional values that really I think created this movement in many ways and I think they still sustain it."

Pence said recently that he would make a decision on whether to run by "this spring," which now is just weeks away. On Wednesday, Pence said he and his wife, Karen, would continue to listen to the American people and should have a clear sense of whether he should run by this spring.

Pence told CBS News he and Karen are "continuing to give prayerful consideration to entering the race."

Asked if he wants to reflect a "pre-Trump Republican Party," Pence said he wants to be true to his calling in public life and would shun any campaign that wholly focuses on the negative.

"As I've traveled around the country, I've heard again and again that people look at the record of the Trump-Pence administration. They want to get back to our policies of a strong defense, American leadership in the world, a vibrant free-market economy, secure borders and conservative judges. But I also hear that they they want to see us get back to the kind of civility in politics that the American people show each other every day."

Pence, asked if entitlement reform would be a key piece of his platform, laid out what a Pence platform could look like.

"My wife and I are continuing to give prayerful consideration to entering the race for the Republican nomination for president," Pence said. "But I can assure you that if we choose to run, we'll bring that broad conservative agenda that's characterized my life and my career before. That means a strong national defense, it means standing up for America's place as leader of the free world. Confronting aggression, whether it's in eastern Europe or standing strong in the Asia Pacific."

"But yes, it also means promoting policies that will get the economy growing again but also advancing policies that will set our national budget on a sustainable pathway," he continued. "I must say, the American people have a demonstrated ability to do hard things. But it's only been at those times in our history when we've had leaders that were willing to be straight with the American people. Tell them what the real challenges are, what the solutions are. And if I'm called into that contest, I'll speak just that way."

The former vice president also defended his decision to challenge a subpoena in from the special counsel overseeing investigations into efforts by Trump and Trump allies to alter the results of the 2020 presidential election. Pence's team argues it's unconstitutional to compel a former vice president to testify in the case, although some legal scholars disagree.

"The notion of compelling a former vice president to appear in court to testify against the president with whom they served is unprecedented, but I also believe it's unconstitutional," Pence said, adding that he's "limited in what I can say about those proceedings."

The former vice president also declined to criticize other potential or declared candidates, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But he did disagree with former Gov. Nikki Haley's position that there should be a competency test for politicians over 75 years of age.

"I come from southern Indiana, where people think most politicians should have a competency test," Pence joked.

"No, I think the American people can sort that out. I really do," he added.

Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.

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Pence won't commit to supporting Trump if he's the nominee