Speaking with special counsel Jack Smith’s team earlier this year, former Vice President Mike Pence offered harrowing details about how, in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, then-President Donald Trump surrounded himself with “crank” attorneys, espoused “un-American” legal theories, and almost pushed the country toward a “constitutional crisis,” according to sources familiar with what Pence told investigators.

The sources said Pence also told investigators he’s “sure” that – in the days before Jan. 6, 2021, when a violent mob tried to stop Congress from certifying the election – he informed Trump he still hadn’t seen evidence of significant election fraud, but Trump was unmoved, continuing to claim the election was “stolen” and acting “recklessly” on that “tragic day.”

  • agent_flounder@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    It makes me crazy how self-serving these depraved assholes are.

    Like any normal human being, even shitty ones, have some sense of duty to the country.

    This motherfucker^1 could have taken the tiniest action against his own self-interest to prevent Trump from getting away with…well anything during his presidency. Instead he sat on his smarmy, power-hungry, self-serving ass and watched as it all happened and then offered a bit of testimony long after. Probably not out of any sense of obligation to the countr but purely to avoid being labeled an insurrectionist so he could maybe run for president or some shit.

    We have got to fight to get money out of politics and get honest, stand up people running for office. Locally to start with them at the state level. Eventually national. And to give them a chance we need to pass some kind of voting reform like ranked choice or star voting in every state. Once you break the power of the two party system there’s a better chance, I think, of decent people running for office and getting elected.

    1. I suppose I can use this term literally…
    • Wes_Dev@lemmy.ml
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      7 months ago

      Despite how much I agree, I think there’s one point worth driving home.

      They ARE normal human beings. That’s the entire problem. Normal human variety includes self centered pieces of shit as much as it includes selfless heros.

      That’s why voting and staying involved in politics matters. If you aren’t constantly trying to keep these assholes out of power, you lose.

      Don’t fall for the comfortable lie that genocide and dictators are rare and “can’t happen here”. That’s precisely how they end up happening.