Pence refused to leave Capitol during riot: book

Former vice-president Mike penceMichael (Mike) Richard PenceTrump in Pence Jan. 6: “You don’t have the guts” Speeches are not enough: Biden must abandon bipartisanship and approve end to filibuster Pence urges Biden to be tough on China in the midst of the “emerging cold war” CONTINUED reportedly rejected orders from his security service to leave the Capitol on January 6 as supporters of the former President TrumpDonald TrumpPro-impeachment Republicans overtake GOP rivals in second quarter fundraising JD Scholten: Democratic Party “blows itself out of water” by not connecting with voters Five people from same Texan family arrested in the context of the Capitol riot PLUS stormed the building to protest against Congress’ certification of President BidenJoe BidenJ.D. Scholten: Democratic Party “gets out of the water” by not connecting with voters Children under 12 could receive COVID-19 vaccine by winter: Georgia Secretary of State reports calls for Fulton County Election Officials Fired MOREthe electoral victory of.

According to an excerpt from the forthcoming book published by the Washington Post, “I Alone Can Fix It,” by reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, Pence expressed his reluctance to leave Capitol Hill fearing it would only meet the wishes of Trump supporters angered by the vice president’s refusal to cancel the election results.

Trump had repeatedly urged Pence to challenge Biden’s electoral victory, although reporters noted that Pence had continuously backed down, noting that he had no constitutional authority to make such a decision.

As rioters began to storm the Capitol, Trump tweeted, “Mike Pence did not have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and our Constitution.”

With some of those parading through the Capitol singing, “Hang Mike Pence,” Tim Giebels, the vice president’s senior special agent in charge of protection details, has twice asked Pence to evacuate the building, according to Post reporters.

Pence would have refused, telling Giebels, “I’m not leaving the Capitol.”

According to the book, Giebels then said: “They are in the building… The room you are in is not secure. There are windows. I need to move you. Were going. “

Once Pence was brought into an area where his armored limousine was waiting, Giebels reportedly told Pence, “We can stand here.”

However, Pence replied, “I’m not getting in the car, Tim,” according to the book.

“I trust you, Tim, but you don’t drive the car,” he added. “If I get in this vehicle, you go. I’m not getting in the car.

Reporters said Pence, along with his wife, Karen, and their daughter, Charlotte, “went to a secure underground area to wait for the riot to end.”

The snippet offers a window into some of the vice president’s immediate responses to the mob attack, particularly following Trump’s public condemnation of his No. 2 official for failing to satisfy his desire to cancel the election, which he falsely claimed was stolen from him by widespread fraud. .

The excerpt from the book, due for release on Tuesday, also revealed that Trump on the morning of January 6 reportedly told Pence over the phone: “You don’t have the courage to make a difficult decision.”