Real Courage Would Have Been Testifying

Thursday's third hearing revealed more damning evidence against Donald Trump and his lawyer, John Eastman, but the story of what happened to Mike Pence should have been told by Mike Pence.

An image of former Vice President Mike Pence on the night of January 6th is displayed during the third hearing of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol in the Cannon House Office Building on June 16, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/via Getty Images)

You would have thought that Mike Pence singlehandedly thwarted the fall of western democracy by the way the Jan. 6 Committee, particularly Liz Cheney, was talking about him on Thursday. While he played an important role in ensuring that our system of government remained functioning during a deadly insurrection, it was hard not to notice the absence of his testimony on the day that was all about him.

Pence was pivotal in maintaining what little order remained following the attack on the Capitol, but the details about how he did it, and how he felt while doing it, would have been better relayed from him directly to the American people. Instead, the Committee relied on first-hand testimony from Greg Jacob, the former attorney to Vice President Mike Pence, and former Judge Michael Luttig, a retired conservative jurist whose former clerks include John Eastman — one of the very people the panel condemned on Thursday, and Ted Cruz.

While many are touting Luttig as the perfect legitimate conservative foil to Trump’s successful attempt to bastardize the true ideals of the Republican Party, let us be clear on who he really is: someone who stood down until the siege at the US Capitol. In an interview for PBS last week, Luttig wouldn’t reveal whether he thought Democrats were right to impeach Trump at either time, and would not directly confirm that challenging the election results was the wrong thing. Judge Luttig only expressed that Trump’s claims were ridiculous.

Amee Vanderpool @girlsreallyrule

Judge Luttig: "I believe that had the VP obeyed his orders from the president...and declared Donald Trump the next President...that...would have plunged America into what...would have been tantamount to a revolution within a Constitutional crisis."

Luttig also admits that before the election, his wife had concerns that Trump would try to stay in office if he lost, but he had disagreed with her stance. Luttig says he eventually had to admit she was right after Trump made it clear he would not leave peacefully. In this respect, the intent of the Committee was not to present the most compelling jurist to the American people, who could most effectively dispel all notions that Trump had any sense of legitimacy. The Jan. 6 panel instead found the most effective way to insult Donald Trump and John Eastman directly; as if they were attempting to punish the former president and his lawyer by chastising him through a messenger that would best draw blood.