Excerpts from Mike Pence’s notes on Jan. 6 conversations with Trump come out: “You’ll go down as a wimp”

Five years after the attack on the Capitol, we look back at Vice-President Mike Pence’s crucial role that could have changed the course of history if the VP had followed orders. Pence literally risked his life to defend the U.S. Constitution.

In the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, the then-Vice President documented a tense phone call with then-and-still President Donald Trump, revealing the pressure he faced to overturn the 2020 election results. Pence’s notes, which have recently surfaced in Jonathan Karl’s book Retribution, provide a firsthand account of the exchange.

During the call, Trump reportedly told Pence about his decision not to block Biden’s certification, “You’ll go down as a wimp.” Pence’s notes also include a scribbled angry emoji and the remark, “You listen to the wrong people,” suggesting a strained relationship and escalating tensions between the two who eventually split.

“If you do that, I made a big mistake 5 years ago,” Pence wrote Trump told him.

These notes were considered by Special Counsel Jack Smith as potential evidence in a case against Trump. Smith’s investigation amassed extensive documentation, including forensic copies of Trump’s phone records and drafts of his January 6 speech, which appeared to target Pence directly.

However, the case was dismissed following Trump’s 2024 reelection (anyone shocked?), leading to questions about the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity on the prosecution’s ability to proceed. Those concerns haven’t gone away as Trump has continued to steamroll his way to authoritarianism.

Despite the case’s dismissal, Smith’s final report to Attorney General Merrick Garland indicated that the evidence gathered was substantial enough to support a conviction had Trump not been reelected. The report emphasised that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial, highlighting the gravity of the situation.

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