Mike Pence is a hero
John Eastman is a dangerous nut
During today’s hearing of the House Jan. 6 committee, former Vice President Mike Pence came across as a hero. Not only did Pence stand up to then President Donald Trump, he also refused to leave the Capitol when his security team tried to evacuate the Pence family. Instead Pence spent hours inside the building, contacting various officials and ready to recognize the electoral college tally that put Joe Biden in the Oval Office.
Pence and his family stayed to finish the job even as within 40 feet a mob marched through the Capitol as some chanted, “Hang Mike Pence.”
The former veep’s belief was simple: The founding fathers never would have wanted to put the authority to decide elections in the hands of one man. As top White House attorney to Pence Gregory F. Jacob testified, “Vice President Pence loves the Constitution. He studied the law and history, he read the law review articles, he ably rebutted John Eastman’s arguments. He concluded that although the relevant text of the Twelfth Amendment is inartfully drafted, the Framers could not possibly have intended to empower the Vice President to reject duly ascertained electoral votes, or to unilaterally suspend the constitutionally mandated vote counting proceedings.”
The Jan. 6 committee aired video of Jan. 6 protesters who asserted that Pence could have chosen not to recognize Joe Biden’s victory. They’re just wrong.
I doubt these individuals would have had the supported Vice President Al Gore if he had decided to declare himself the victor in 2000.
I’ve known John Eastman for years — I used to respect him. He ran for California Attorney General in 2010, but lost the GOP primary to former Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley (who lost the general election to Kamala Harris).
When questioned by Jan. 6 committee staff, Eastman invoked the Fifth Amendment rather than answer questions. That is his right against self-incrimination.
Another thing we learned today was the Eastman sought a presidential pardon from Trump — but he didn’t get one.
Trump was famously generous in his use of the pardon power — for which I have praised Trump in general, if not always in particular.
Name recipients include:
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Charles Kushner
Why no pardon for Eastman? My educated guess: Trump knew that Eastman, with this insane notion that Trump could fight the electoral college count, had done Trump no favor. So, no pardon.
Debra J. Saunders is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Chapman Center for Citizen Leadership. Contact her at dsaunders@discovery.org.