Former Vice President Mike Pence has changed his stance, moving away from using the “same standard” for former President Donald Trump that he applied when voting to expel a Democrat from Congress two decades ago.
During his appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” guest host Jonathan Karl raised the topic of Pence’s past decision to expel Former Rep. James Traficant (D-Ohio) after Traficant’s conviction on multiple felony charges in 2002.
Karl reminded Pence of his previous vote to expel Traficant and posed a question about Trump, who currently faces a total of 91 criminal charges across four cases.
Karl asked, “Would you apply that same standard to the White House?”
Pence highlighted Congress’ role in assessing membership in cases involving ethical violations. He characterized the Traficant case as “truly outrageous” before addressing who should assess Trump’s eligibility for the White House after a potential conviction.
Pence responded, “However, if you’re asking whether I would apply that same standard to my former running mate in this race, I believe that determination should be left to the American people.”
He continued, “Let’s give the former president his day in court. Let’s uphold the presumption of innocence, both in this matter and in the other incident that unfolded this week in Georgia.”
Pence has previously voiced his support for Trump’s right to a day in court following his indictments.
Despite qualifying for both the first and second GOP debates, the “former running mate” (Donald Trump) has indicated that he does not intend to participate in them.
Decisions about former Pres. Trump’s political future amid various criminal investigations “needs to be left to the American people,” former VP Mike Pence tells @JonKarl.
“Let’s have the former president have his day in court." https://t.co/YJgkOG4qVA pic.twitter.com/Q5SNN3ybuz
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 20, 2023
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