Commentary about special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 investigation has largely — and understandably — focused on former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his role in the Capitol riot. But if we zero in on Trump’s conduct toward Mike Pence, based on what is known so far, it looks a lot like Trump solicited a crime of violence against his own vice president.
The U.S. Code makes it a crime to solicit any other person to engage in conduct that is a felony under federal law involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against a person (in other words, a federal felony that is a crime of violence). Under this statute, the government must prove the defendant intended the person to commit a crime of violence and that the defendant “under circumstances strongly corroborative of that intent, solicit[ed], command[ed], induce[ed], or otherwise endeavor[ed] to persuade” the other person to engage in such conduct.
Let’s look at just some of the evidence that is publicly known.
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On Jan. 4, 2021, at an Oval Office meeting that included Trump, Pence and lawyer John Eastman, among others, Eastman allegedly admitted that the fraudulent elector plan he proposed was unlawful. According to Pence’s 2022 autobiography, “So Help Me God,” Pence then said to Trump, “Even your lawyer doesn’t think I have the authority to return electoral votes.” Nevertheless, that night at a rally in Georgia, the president amped up his pressure on Pence, telling the crowd they weren’t going to let the “radical Democrats” steal the election: “I hope Mike Pence comes through for us.” He then praised Pence as a “great vice president,” but added, “Of course, if he doesn’t come…
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