Pence must testify about conversations with Trump before Jan. 6, judge rules: reports

Former Vice President Mike Pence must testify to a grand jury about his conversations with then-President Donald Trump in the days before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, according to a federal court ruling.

The ruling remains under seal, and Pence can still appeal it, according to multiple media reports.

The reported ruling is a win for Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is probing Trump's purported efforts to challenge the 2020 election as well as a second investigation into the documents marked classified and seized by the FBI at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in August.

People familiar with the judge's ruling said that Pence will not have to testify about his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, after he argued that he was protected from having to testify under the "speech or debate" clause of the Constitution because he was carrying out official acts as president of the Senate.