A former adviser to Mike Pence says the DOJ subpoena acts as a “safety blanket” for the former vice president’s possible run in 2024.

A former adviser to Mike Pence said she believes the DOJ agenda serves as a “safety blanket” for the former vice president as he is reportedly mulling his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.

Olivia Troy, Pence’s former national security and counterterrorism adviser during his time in the White House, said in an interview with MSNBC on Saturday that the Justice Department subpoena is seen as the most aggressive step taken so far in the investigation into former President Donald Trump. canceling the results of the 2020 election gives the former vice president some “political cover”.

“I do think he has the intention of running and the subpoena, I think, gives him political top cover. really happened in a very honest and truthful way behind closed doors,” Troy said. “And then publicly he can say: “Look, I was forced by law. I didn’t do it of my own free will.” And he’s got some political top cover there for the GOP base. Although it seems to me that this base no longer exists. Although, according to his calculations, maybe he still thinks he can win them back.

On Friday, the FBI uncovered an additional classified document at Pence’s Indiana home after his lawyers discovered confidential government documents there last month. The search, described as agreed after negotiations between Pence officials and the Justice Department, comes after it was subpoenaed as part of a separate investigation into Trump’s attempts to cancel the 2020 election.

TRUMP CALLS PENCE ‘A VERY GOOD MAN’ AFTER SPECIAL PRO-CONSTRUCTION JACK SMITH’S AGENDA

Former Vice President Mike Pence, seen walking in the Capitol with his wife Karen, has been subpoenaed as part of a special Justice Department investigation.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, seen walking in the Capitol with his wife Karen, has been subpoenaed as part of a special Justice Department investigation. (House Selection Committee via AP, file)

Pence is the latest official in the Trump administration to be subpoenaed as part of the Justice Department’s special counsel investigation, but Pence is the highest-ranking official known to have been subpoenaed. A subpoena issued by Special Counsel Jack Smith sets the stage for a potential dispute over executive privilege.

In a November sit-in interview with CBS News host Margaret Brennan, Pence said he explained his decision not to testify before the House Selection Committee investigating the January 6 riots.

“Congress has no right to my testimony,” Pence said at the time. “We have a separation of powers under the United States Constitution. And I think it would set a terrible precedent for Congress if it called the Vice President of the United States to a discussion that was taking place in the White House.”

“I close the door on this,” Pence added at the time. “I must say again that the partisan nature of the January 6 committee disappointed me.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who was seen talking from his safe loading bay during the Jan. 6 riots, is facing a Justice Department subpoena over former President Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who was seen talking from his safe loading bay during the Jan. 6 riots, is facing a Justice Department subpoena over former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. (House Select Committee via AP)

On Saturday, Troy suggested that she thought Pence was more likely to work with the Justice Department.

“I think in his head, from his point of view, he thought the January 6 committee was too political. And I think that was the excuse he used,” Troy told MSNBC. “Now, of course, I personally think very differently. I think he should have been outspoken. I think he must have been willing to tell the American people the truth about how bad the situation was. But in a sense, this is a political advantage.

“If the Justice Department takes Donald Trump out of the race, it will play into the hands of Mike Pence,” she added. “And I’m sure it’s part of the calculations that need to be passed on to Pence’s team. It’s not that they aren’t thinking about this strategic bigger picture in the long term.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence could gain executive privilege if he chooses to disobey a Justice Department subpoena issued by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Former Vice President Mike Pence could gain executive privilege if he chooses to disobey a Justice Department subpoena issued by Special Counsel Jack Smith. (House Selection Committee via AP, file)

It’s unclear if Trump and Pence’s legal teams will coordinate in response to the DOJ subpoena. Pence was represented by veteran lawyer Emmett Flood, whom Troy described as an “executive privilege hawk”.

According to the Associated Press, if Pence ultimately refuses to comply with the subpoena, he could demand Trump’s intervention, citing executive privilege. Such an action could lead to disputes behind closed doors before D.C. Chief Federal Judge Beryl Howell.

“Let’s be honest. Pence has been pulling to tell the truth and really talk about it for over two years now. That’s how long it’s been. And they continue to slow down this process,” Troy said on Saturday.

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Pence is now the third current or former senior US official, joining Trump and current President Joe Biden, whose homes have been searched by FBI agents for classified records.

Pence and Biden presented themselves as fully cooperative compared to the Justice Department, which was supposed to get a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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