Pence said refuting push to overturn election may be ‘most important thing I ever say’

Former Vice President Mike Pence told his staff that his statement outlining his reasoning to resist President Trump’s pressure to overturn the November 2020 election ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 certification may be “the most important thing I ever say.”

Mr. Pence’s former counsel Greg Jacob revealed the weight the vice president placed on the statement in a videotaped deposition plated Thursday at a House Jan. 6 Committee hearing.

“The vice president had said, ‘This may be the most important thing I ever say,” Mr. Jacob said in the video.

In a letter to Congress on the day of the certification, Mr. Pence denied that he had the powers as vice president to overturn the election, despite pressure from Mr. Trump to dismiss the Electoral College votes.

Mr. Trump pressured Mr. Pence to “stand up for the good of our Constitution and for the good of our country” at the “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse just before thousands of Mr. Trump’s supporters made their way to the Capitol for a protest that culminated in an attack on the Capitol.

Some of Mr. Trump’s supporters chanted “Hang Mike Pence” as they converged on the Capitol, where the vice president was overseeing the certification.

Thursday’s hearing is focused on Mr. Trump’s pressure campaign on the vice president in the lead-up to election certification on Jan. 6, 2021, which the committee says directly contributed to the attack on the Capitol.

The panel began its series of public hearings this month with a prime-time broadcast last week. The committee is making the case that Mr. Trump planned the attack on the Capitol, which they say was an attempted “coup.”