Mike Pence Says Post-Election Calls To Governors Were 'Pressure'-Free

"I was calling to get an update," Pence said, asked about a report that Donald Trump conscripted him to "prod" a GOP governor after the 2020 election.
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Former Vice President Mike Pence claimed he doesn’t “remember any pressure” from Donald Trump after a report that the former president asked his vice president to “prod” then-Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey for information to back up his voter fraud claims on the 2020 presidential election.

Pence, in an interview with CBS News’ Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation,” confirmed that he checked in with Ducey and other governors as he responded to a Washington Post report that said Trump tasked Pence with prodding Ducey amid his attempts to overturn the election results.

“I think the record reflects that I did check in with not only Gov. Ducey, but other governors in states that were going through the legal process of reviewing their election results,” Pence said.

“But there was no pressure involved. I was calling to get an update. I passed along that information to the president.”

The Post reported that investigators in special counsel Jack Smith’s office have expressed interest in Trump’s calls with governors, along with “Trump’s efforts to conscript Pence into helping him.” The newspaper noted it’s unclear how the calls fit into the criminal probe.

Pence said on “Meet the Press” last month that he hoped Trump would “come around” to the 2020 election results.

Watch more of Pence’s interview with Brennan below.

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