For its third public hearing, Thursday, June 16, the Commission of Inquiry looked into the pressure exerted – without success – by Donald Trump on his vice-president on the day of the certification of the results of the presidential election, upset by the assault on the Capitol.
“President Donald Trump knew his plan to overturn the 2020 election was illegal, but he pressured Vice President Mike Pence anyway, before unleashing a violent mob after him when he refused to ‘to comply’summarizes the New York Times.
According to the results of the investigation, Trump knew that the rioters had entered the Capitol when he sent a tweet directly implicating Mike Pence, forcing him to flee and hide for “save his life”finding themselves at “a dozen meters from the crowd demanding his execution”, adds the New York daily. According to the Commission, “If the far-right group The Proud Boys and other rioters had found Mr Pence, they would have killed him”.
“Treason”
The tweet in question – “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what was necessary” – had an immediate effect on the angry crowd, adds Rolling Stone. “The commission showed video clips of Trump supporters outside the Capitol embittered by Pence’s ‘betrayal’ right after the tweet was sent”writes the magazine.
“The situation was already difficult, but I felt that with this tweet, he was throwing oil on the fire”testified Sarah Matthews, former assistant to the press service of the White House.
On the morning of January 6, a phone call between Donald Trump and Mike Pence had already turned sour, according to several testimonies collected by the Commission. Noting that his vice-president had no intention of opposing the certification of the election results, Donald Trump had, among other insults, called him a “Mauviette”according to an assistant to the president quoted by The Hill.