Trump's Effort to Sway Pence Before Jan. 6 Is Central to Indictment
- Former vice president poised to be star witness at Trump trial
- Prosecutors provide timeline on Trump efforts to sway Pence
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Donald Trump’s attempt to strong-arm Mike Pence into refusing to certify the result of the 2020 election wasn’t just an unseemly pressure campaign that put his vice president’s life at risk, it was the linchpin of a scheme to defraud America, according to US prosecutors.
A grand jury in Washington returned an indictment Tuesday in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation charging Trump with conspiracy to reverse his election loss through deceit and false claims of voter fraud. The indictment relies heavily on Trump’s treatment of Pence, who was forced to flee the Senate chamber in the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as a mob of Trump supporters attempted to prevent Pence’s certification of Joe Biden’s victory.