WASHINGTON ― Former Vice President Mike Pence briefly thought-about not presiding over the ceremony that formalized his coup-attempting boss’s 2020 election loss, as soon as once more elevating questions in regards to the contemporaneous scheming about Iowa’s Chuck Grassley presiding in his stead.

In his every day planner, wherein he additionally took journal-like notes, Pence on Christmas Eve in 2020 wrote it could be higher to abdicate his constitutionally proscribed function overseeing the Electoral College tally to keep away from bruising then-President Donald Trump’s ego.

“Not feeling like I should attend electoral count,” he wrote, in response to a report Tuesday by ABC News. “Too many questions, too many doubts, too hurtful to my friend. Therefore I’m not going to participate in certification of election.”

But Pence quickly deserted that notion and returned to his earlier plan to preside over the Jan. 6, 2021, ceremony, citing a dialog along with his son, an active-duty Marine, who reminded him that each had taken an oath to guard and uphold the U.S. Constitution.

Former aides to Pence declined to touch upon ABC’s report, which affords new particulars about Pence’s testimony earlier than the federal grand jury that finally indicted Trump on 4 felony counts primarily based on his try to stay in energy regardless of having misplaced reelection.

Trump’s legal professionals ― Trump is entitled to obtain grand jury testimony of witnesses that particular counsel Jack Smith might name at trial ― are legally permitted to launch that testimony, absent a gag order. They didn’t reply to HuffPost queries Tuesday.

Trump started pressuring Pence to make use of his function as Senate president to rule that the electoral ballots from a lot of states have been invalid due to “massive voter fraud” and to easily declare Trump the winner as an alternative of Joe Biden. Pence, although, repeatedly instructed Trump that he had seen no proof of fraud widespread sufficient to have affected the result and that, in any occasion, he didn’t have the authority to do as Trump demanded.

In the weeks following the election, Pence did talk about along with his workers however determined towards the choice of not displaying up for the Jan. 6, 2021, certification ― a lot as Vice President Hubert Humphrey in 1969 had not proven up for the vote certification of the person who had defeated him for president, Richard Nixon.

Trump and his aides, nonetheless, continued pushing for the “Pence Card” choice, as they described it, with two of Trump’s legal professionals truly mentioning the potential for Grassley, a Republican and on the time the president professional tempore of the Senate, probably being within the chair on Jan. 6.

One of the legal professionals, John Eastman, in September cited the Fifth Amendment proper to not incriminate himself and declined to reply questions on Grassley throughout his disbarment continuing in California.

Grassley, on Jan. 5, 2021, instructed reporters, “If the vice president isn’t there, and we don’t expect him to be there, I will be presiding over the Senate and obviously listening to the debate without saying anything.”

But his workplace shortly despatched out a clarification that he was referring solely to the Senate session that day pertaining to attainable challenges to elector slates from explicit states, to not the joint session wherein the votes could be counted.

Grassley spokesperson Taylor Foy on Tuesday mentioned Grassley had no information of Trump’s plot. (*6*) Foy mentioned.

Jack Smith’s Jan. 6-related case is only one of 4 legal prosecutions Trump at present faces. Smith additionally indicted the previous president in South Florida for withholding and refusing to show over secret paperwork taken from the White House to his Palm Beach nation membership on the finish of his time period. A Georgia grand jury individually indicted him for makes an attempt to overturn his election loss in that state. In New York state, a grand jury charged Trump with falsifying enterprise information to cover a $130,000 hush cash fee to a porn star simply forward of the 2016 election.

If convicted on any of the extra critical costs, Trump may obtain a long time in jail. He nonetheless is searching for a return to the White House and is at present the polling front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

Pence till final month was additionally a candidate for that nomination, however he dropped out due to weak polling and fundraising ― a minimum of partly as a result of a big swath of GOP major voters are nonetheless offended with him for refusing to do Trump’s bidding and overturn the 2020 election.