Former Vice President Mike Pence denied that former President Donald Trump pressured him to find evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election during an interview Sunday.
Pence disputed a report published by The Washington Post alleging Trump repeatedly pressured his then-vice president to call the then-governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, in an effort to overturn the election results. The former vice president told “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan he remained in contact with Ducey over the election without pressure.
“There was no pressure at all, Margaret. I was calling to get an update, passed along that information to the president. There was no more, no less than that,” Pence said on Sunday’s “Face the Nation.”
Brennan then pressed Pence on whether Trump was behind the calls to Ducey to “influence” the election. (RELATED: Pence Says Trump ‘Endangered Me And My Family’ On Jan. 6)
You are clearly saying you did not pressure the governor. But were you being pressured by Mr. Trump to get those— to influence Doug Ducey and did you talk about this with the Special Counsel?” Brennan asked.
“No, I don’t remember any pressure,” Pence assured. “Look, the president and I— things came to a head at the end, Margaret, I’ve spoken about very openly and the president and I continue to have a strong difference,” Pence added. “I’ll always believe that by God’s grace, I did my duty under the Constitution that day in presiding over a joint session of Congress in the aftermath of the mayhem and the rioting. But in the days of November and December, this was- this was an orderly process. You’ll remember there were more than 60 lawsuits underway, states were engaging in appropriate reviews and that- these contacts were no more than that.”
The Post reported Pence called Ducey at Trump’s behest to ask the Republican governor to find evidence of voter fraud, though Pence reportedly did not follow the former president’s alleged advice to pressure Ducey. The former Arizona governor allegedly told a Republican donor he was surprised special counsel Jack Smith did not investigate his phone calls with Trump and Pence as evidence into the Justice Department’s investigation Trump’s alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election.