ATLANTA — Mike Pence, who was almost killed by Donald Trump’s followers during their Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, on Friday tacitly supported the new Georgia indictment against him for trying to overturn his election loss in that state.
“We ought to be willing to tell the American people the truth, and the first principles are that no one’s above the law,” he told reporters following an appearance at radio talk show host Erick Erickson’s presidential candidates forum.
He said that Trump and the other 18 who have been charged with felony counts ranging from racketeering to forgery to fraud are presumed innocent of the crimes until proven guilty in court.
“That being said, I do think it’s important that irrespective of that case or other cases going forward that we speak the truth to the American people that I had no right to overturn the election, and the Georgia election was not stolen,” he added.
Pence’s statement stands out for his willingness to give legitimacy to the indictment brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, following a two-year investigation sparked by the release of a recording capturing Trump’s attempt to coerce state elections officials to “find” him enough votes to win.
While former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and former Texas congressman Will Hurd have all repeatedly criticized Trump for his efforts to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election, the others in the GOP field have declined to do so, and have even verbally attacked the prosecutors.
On Tuesday, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott said, “We see the legal system being weaponized against political opponents.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters, “I think it’s an example of this criminalization of politics.”
Trump’s indictment in Georgia is his fourth overall, and brings the total number of felony counts against him to 91. Trump faces four counts in a federal indictment for his coup attempt, as well as 40 in a separate federal case based on his refusal to turn over secret documents he was keeping at his Florida country club. A New York State indictment earlier this year charged him on 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 hush money payment to a porn star just ahead of the 2016 election.
Despite all this, Trump remains the polling leader, by large margins, for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.