The Secret Service was warned by one of Mike Pence’s top aides of a threat to the then–vice president the day before the storming of the Capitol, per revelations in a new book on the Trump presidency.
On January 5, 2021, Marc Short, Pence’s chief of staff and the former White House director of legislative affairs to then-President Donald Trump, called to speak with Special Agent Tim Giebels, the head of the vice-presidential protective detail. Short reportedly told Giebels that Trump was going to “publicly turn” against Pence, which would create a threat to his life.
In the days leading up to January 6, 2021, Trump had been publicly pressuring Pence to use his role as president of the Senate and presiding officer of the joint session of Congress to stop the certification of Electoral College votes confirming Joe Biden as the next president. Though no notably violent calls had been made against Pence — beyond normal threats made against the vice president — Short had judged that Trump’s supporters, scheduled to gather in Washington the next day, would increase the threat level in a noticeable manner.
The revelations were obtained from part of an upcoming book by the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman. According to Haberman, it was the only time that Short had flagged a security threat to the vice president during both men’s tenures.
The next day, Pence sent a letter to all members of Congress, denying that he had the powers suggested by Trump to dismiss the Electoral College’s votes for Biden. In a speech during his “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse south of the White House, Trump had said, “Mike Pence, I hope you’re going to stand up for the good of our Constitution and for the good of our country. And if you’re not, I’m going to be very disappointed in you. I will tell you right now. I’m not hearing good stories.”
Thereafter, some 2,000 of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol building and later breached the Senate chamber, where Pence had been. Pence and Senate president pro tempore Chuck Grassley — both in the line of succession to the presidency — had been evacuated from the chamber, followed by the entire Senate shortly before protesters entered. An unspecified number of protesters chanted “hang Mike Pence,” while a noose on a gallows was erected outside the Capitol during the intrusion. A journalist reported that the gallows was small and apparently erected as a symbol.
The revelations come as the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot is looking into the extent to which law-enforcement agencies were informed of a plan to storm the Capitol on January 6, and the reasons for their lack of preparedness to repel the attack. Republicans have derided the committee as partisan and broadly voted against its formation. One of the negative votes was from Representative Greg Pence (R., Indiana), the former vice president’s brother. It is unclear what role the revelations will play in the investigation. The committee has not responded to request for comment from National Review as of this writing.
Pence later presided over the certification of Biden’s victory after returning to the chamber that evening. In the days after the incident, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) called on Pence to use his powers under the 25th Amendment to declare Trump unable to discharge the duties of his office — removing him from the presidency and making Pence the acting president until January 20, when Trump’s term would expire.
In a letter written to Pelosi on January 12, Pence denied that he could exercise such powers. The House later impeached Trump for a second time for “incitement of insurrection,” a charge for which he was acquitted by the Senate.