Of the November 2020 meeting, the former vice president writes: “In the end, that day the president made the fateful decision to put Giuliani and [attorney] Sidney Powell in charge of legal strategy… The seeds were being sown for a tragic day in January.” By openly blaming Trump for the events that led to the Jan. 6 riot, when a pro-Trump mob attacked the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory, Pence risks angering Republicans who must stand trial as is considering the next run for president. His memoir, So Help Me God, will be published on November 15. Axios published a short excerpt on Monday. Pence writes: “What started as a briefing that Thursday afternoon quickly turned into a battle between the campaign’s lawyers and a growing group of outside lawyers led by Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, a lawyer who had represented General Mike Flynn . [Trump’s first national security adviser, fired for lying to the FBI]. “After the campaign’s lawyers gave a sober and somewhat pessimistic report on the state of the election challenges, the outside cast of characters pounced… Giuliani told the president over the loudspeaker: ‘Your lawyers are not telling you the truth, Mr. President. ‘ “Even in an office well-versed in tough talk, it was a new low…. [and] went down from there.” Trump’s guilt in the attack on the Capitol was examined and presented by the committee of the House of Representatives on January 6 and is being investigated by the US Department of Justice. The former president is in legal jeopardy on other fronts as well: an election upset, the unauthorized retention of White House documents after his presidency ended, his business affairs and a defamation lawsuit from a writer who claims he raped her. Trump denies wrongdoing and remains a dominant poll lead for 2024. He is reportedly seeking campaign hires while waiting until after next week’s midterm elections to make an official announcement. Pence’s presidential ambition is no secret, but although the Jan. 6 panel portrayed him as a hero for refusing to cooperate with Trump’s election sabotage, he has work to do if he wants to convince Republican voters that he is the man to take on Biden. The poll gives Trump a huge lead over his closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis. If Trump is removed from the equation, DeSantis enjoys a healthy lead over the likes of Pence, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump Jr.
