US: Mike Pence details repeated efforts to get Donald Trump to admit he’s guilty in new court filing

US: New court documents highlight former vice president Mike Pence’s persistent efforts to persuade Donald Trump to recognize he lost the 2020 contest.

The team of special counsel Jack Smith compiled many claimed conversations between Trump and Pence in the post-2020 election period, including an apparently “face-saving option” from Pence that the previous president should not openly surrender but “recognize the process is over.”

Just over a month before Election Day, the talks were reported in a 165-page court file from federal prosecutors and partially unsealed Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. According to the lawsuit, Trump “resorted to crimes” to remain in office even though he was fully aware he had lost the 2020 election from talks with his closest circle.

Trump said of Smith’s brief on Truth Social, “falsehood-ridden, unconstitutional,” sent in reaction to Tim Walz’s “disastrous” vice presidential debate performance.

Outside of usual business hours, Newsweek has emailed Smith’s office, Trump’s campaign team, and Pence’s office for comments.

Smith’s team sent in the brief after the historic Supreme Court ruling affording Trump at least presumptive presidential protection for government conduct carried out while in office. Mostly carrying the four federal allegations Trump pled not guilty to, the supplemental indictment against him The revised filings eliminated several claims to conform to Supreme Court rulings, effectively presenting Trump as a candidate for office rather than as president.

While the vice president performed only ceremonial duties as presiding officer of the Senate, the indictment maintained charges Trump routinely pressed Pence to not declare the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021.
One of the exchanges Trump and Pence had after the 2020 election, according to the released files, was the vice president declaring he discovered no proof of voting fraud likely to influence the race’s result.

The documents also state that Pence “gradually and gently tried to convince” Trump to embrace the legal outcome of the election, “even if it meant they lost.”

In a conversation on November 7, 2020—the day Joe Biden was announced the victor of the 2020 election by media organizations—Pence “tried to encourage” Trump “as a friend” to accept he lost, adding, “you took a dying political party and gave it a new lease on life.”

Prosecutors said Pence “reiterated a face-saving option” for Trump: “Don’t concede but recognize process is over” over a private lunch on November 12, 2020.

New court documents highlight former vice president Mike Pence’s persistent efforts to persuade Donald Trump to recognize he lost the 2020 contest.

The team of special counsel Jack Smith compiled many claimed conversations between Trump and Pence in the post-2020 election period, including an apparently “face-saving option” from Pence that the previous president should not openly surrender but “recognize the process is over.”

Just over a month before Election Day, the talks were reported in a 165-page court file from federal prosecutors and partially unsealed Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. According to the lawsuit, Trump “resorted to crimes” to remain in office even though he was fully aware he had lost the 2020 election from talks with his closest circle.

Trump said of Smith’s brief on Truth Social, “falsehood-ridden, unconstitutional,” sent in reaction to Tim Walz’s “disastrous” vice presidential debate performance.

Outside of usual business hours, Newsweek has emailed Smith’s office, Trump’s campaign team, and Pence’s office for comments.

Smith’s team sent in the brief after the historic Supreme Court ruling affording Trump at least presumptive presidential protection for government conduct carried out while in office. Mostly carrying the four federal allegations Trump pled not guilty to, the supplemental indictment against him The revised filings eliminated several claims to conform to Supreme Court rulings, effectively presenting Trump as a candidate for office rather than as president.

While the vice president performed only ceremonial duties as presiding officer of the Senate, the indictment maintained charges Trump routinely pressed Pence to not declare the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021.
One of the exchanges Trump and Pence had after the 2020 election, according to the released files, was the vice president declaring he discovered no proof of voting fraud likely to influence the race’s result.

The documents also state that Pence “gradually and gently tried to convince” Trump to embrace the legal outcome of the election, “even if it meant they lost.”

In a conversation on November 7, 2020—the day Joe Biden was announced the victor of the 2020 election by media organizations—Pence “tried to encourage” Trump “as a friend” to accept he lost, adding, “you took a dying political party and gave it a new lease on life.”

Prosecutors said Pence “reiterated a face-saving option” for Trump: “Don’t concede but recognize process is over” over a private lunch on November 12, 2020.