Trump lawyers say former president did not know Pence was in danger at the Capitol Former President Trump's defense team on Friday denied that Trump knew his then-vice president, Mike Pence, was in danger during the Capitol attack on Jan. 6.
"The answer is no," Michael van der Veen said flatly on the Senate floor. "At no point was the president informed the vice president was in any danger."
The remarks came in response to a question from two Republican senators, Mitt Romney (Utah) and Susan Collins (Maine), who had broken with most in their party earlier in the week in supporting the trial's constitutionality.
The question of what Trump knew about the severity of the attack — and when he knew it — has emerged as a major issue in the Senate trial, where Democrats have accused Trump of provoking last month's attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
Pence had become a target of the mob after he'd refused Trump's entreaties to reject the Electoral College results, which formalized Joe Biden's presidential victory.
At 2:24 p.m. on Jan. 6, Trump tweeted at Pence, pressing him to find the "courage" to reject the election outcome — a power the vice president does not possess.
That tweet came roughly 10 minutes after Secret Service agents had already whisked Pence from the Senate floor, fearing for his safety after the rioters had breached the building.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/538680-trump-lawyers-say-former-president-did-not-know-pence-was-in-danger-at-the
