Mike Pence is shown in a new British documentary reacting approvingly to a congressional resolution to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove then-President Donald Trump from office.
In a clip taped six days after the Jan. 6 2021 attack, Pence smiles when an aide hands him a cellphone with a message disclosing the dramatic push to cut short Trump’s time in the White House.
“Yeah, excellent,” Pence says on the Jan. 12 tape.
“Print it out so I can read it on the trip home,” the ex-veep adds in his trademark dead-pan tone.
Pence, who was targeted by Trump’s supporters on the day of the insurrection, never invoked the 25th Amendment, which would have required a majority of the Cabinet to remove Trump in the dying days of his term.
He also joined most Republicans in opposing the impeachment of Trump, which would have barred the former president from ever again holding federal public office.
The Discovery+ documentary titled “Unprecedented” boasts of significant access to Trump and his family members before, during and after the attack on the Capitol. It was turned over to the congressional panel under subpoena.
Filmmaker Alex Holder answered questions from lawmakers behind closed doors on Thursday.
Trump vows to talk about the fateful events of Jan. 6, 2021, and how he would “go to war” with anyone who crosses him in a trailer for the documentary.
In the 20-second teaser, Trump claims he’s a nice guy except when it comes to confronting his enemies.
The trailer ends with Trump being asked by an unseen interviewer if he intends to discuss what happened on Jan. 6 in the film.
“Yup,” says Trump.
Trump has refused to cooperate with or testify under oath to the committee, which he denounces as a partisan “witch hunt.”
But the footage could offer the panel and the American people his portrayal of his actions on Jan. 6 and whether he chooses to claim responsibility for the attack by thousands of his extremist supporters.
In the early clips released, the former president reiterated his claims that the rally on Jan. 6 was a response to bogus claims of election fraud, not a brazen effort to illegally keep him in power.
“People went to Washington primarily because they were angry with an election they think was rigged,” Trump said. “They were angry from the standpoint of what happened in the election. Because they’re smart, and they see and they saw what happened, and I believe that that was a big part of what happened on Jan. 6.”
Along with the president, the filmmakers gained extensive access to his adult children, Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric.
Ivanka Trump told the committee that she disagreed with Trump’s claim that the election was stolen but she reportedly says in the documentary that she backs his Big Lie campaign to overturn President Joe Biden’s win.
“My father, he is very honest, and he is who he is,” Ivanka Trump says in the trailer.
Don Jr. adds: “He believes everything that he’s doing is right.”
