Mike Pence and Doug Ducey have now been dragged into the fray
I’ll admit it took me a minute to wrap my head around this one. Yesterday the Washington Post reported that Donald Trump had tried to pressure then-Arizona Governor Doug Ducey into overturning the 2020 presidential election results. Trump also dragged Mike Pence into the fray by pushing him to put pressure on Ducey; Pence reportedly called Ducey but declined to put any pressure on him. So why are we just finding out about this now?
In these situations, I always try to remember that this kind of inside information doesn’t get picked up by the wind and randomly land on a reporter’s desk. Someone on the inside has to make the decision to give such information to the media – and that person always has a specific reason for doing so.
According to WaPo, Ducey told one of his donors that he’d gotten these phone calls from Trump and Pence, and that he was surprised Jack Smith hadn’t asked him about them yet. Oops. Big mistake on Ducey’s part. One way or another, it’s clear that this donor told someone about this, and now it’s front page news.
It’s not clear who the donor told about this. It’s possible the donor took the story to the media. It’s also possible that the donor took the story to the DOJ, and Jack Smith turned around and gave it to the media as a way of letting Ducey know that he needs to come in and immediately give truthful testimony about this. For that matter it’s possible that Jack Smith has indeed already obtained Ducey’s testimony, and that the leak we’re now reading is – as is so often the case with inside information – old news.
We’ll find out soon enough. If Jack Smith doesn’t already have Doug Ducey’s testimony, he’ll have it within days. Ducey may not have been legally obligated to report Trump for illegally pressuring him to overturn the election. But now that the story is out there and Jack Smith will be asking Ducey about the phone calls, Ducey will be legally required to answer. Witnesses who didn’t participate in crimes can’t hide behind the Fifth Amendment.
There’s also the matter of Mike Pence. He already gave several hours of testimony to Jack Smith’s grand jury. If Jack Smith didn’t know about the Ducey phone calls at the time, he wouldn’t have known to ask Pence. Did Pence volunteer this information? If not, don’t be shocked if Smith puts Pence in front of the grand jury again and asks him about Ducey. Remember, Pence can’t hide behind the Fifth Amendment either.
Republicans like Mike Pence and Doug Ducey keep getting dragged even further into the fray as we get closer to the finish line. But that’s what happens when a career criminal becomes President of the United States and commits nonstop crimes in the name of stealing reelection. What’s remarkable is that Donald Trump committed this many election crimes and still couldn’t find a way to remain in office. He’s the biggest loser.
