前副总统迈克·彭斯本周表示，他不会出庭作证在众议院1月6日委员会之前，声称这样做会违反国会和白宫的分权。
彭斯在媒体宣传他的新回忆录时，告诉CBS新闻他在委员会面前讲话时“关上了门”,此前他曾表示考虑一下。
“国会无权听取我的证词，”彭斯说。“根据美国宪法，我们实行三权分立。我认为，国会传唤美国副总统就白宫的审议情况发表讲话，将开创一个可怕的先例。”
尽管彭斯现在坚决反对坐在委员会面前，但他表示，否则他希望“在某种程度上，在我的余生中”谈论1月6日的袭击，并一直在接受美国广播公司(ABC)、哥伦比亚广播公司(CBS)、美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)和其他媒体的采访或市政厅这样做。
作为当时的副总统，当暴徒突破大楼时，彭斯正在美国国会大厦，并被迫在一个地下位置隐藏了几个小时，直到国会能够证明总统乔·拜登的选举胜利。
便士已经受到委员们的多次表扬因为顶住了前总统唐纳德·特朗普的压力，推翻了2020年总统竞选的结果。
彭斯最近在谈到特朗普的行为时没有拐弯抹角，本周早些时候告诉美国广播公司新闻的大卫·穆尔，特朗普1月6日的话是“鲁莽的”，危及了他和其他人的生命。
在一次独家采访中，彭斯告诉穆尔第一次讨论他和特朗普在暴动后，关于他是否后悔自己的言辞在选举之后，为什么是特朗普不接电话暴乱期间。
彭斯最近也对1月6日的小组提出了批评。在接受哥伦比亚广播公司采访时，他指责该委员会带有党派色彩。
委员会主席本尼·汤普森。和副主席利兹·切尼(R-Wyo)在周三的一份声明中反驳了彭斯。
“特别委员会在与副总统彭斯的接触中一直尊重和负责任地进行，所以令人失望的是，他在接受采访以宣传他的新书时歪曲了我们调查的性质，”两名议员说。
汤普森和切尼说，众议院少数党领袖凯文·麦卡锡(加利福尼亚州共和党人)有机会任命共和党人进入该委员会，但选择了不这样做。该委员会中的两名共和党人-切尼和伊利诺伊州众议员亚当·金辛格(Adam Kinzinger)都是特朗普的批评者和即将离任的众议院成员-是由众议院议长南希·佩洛西(Nancy Pelosi)任命的。
汤普森和切尼说:“专责委员会一直赞扬前副总统拒绝屈服于前总统特朗普的压力，非法拒绝在1月6日统计选举人票。”"但是他最近关于特别委员会的声明是不准确的."
该委员会没有传唤彭斯，但已经传唤特朗普，要求他提供文件和证词，这是一项历史性的举措。
特朗普起诉阻止传票，该委员会此后表示，它正在评估所有选择，试图迫使他参与。
Jan. 6 committee pushes back after Pence says he won't testify
Former Vice President Mike Pence said this week that he's not going to testifybefore the House Jan. 6 committee, claiming that doing so would violate the separation of powers between Congress and the White House.
Pence, on a media blitz to promote his new memoir,told CBS Newsthat he was "closing the door" on speaking before the panel after previously stating that he'dconsider it.
"The Congress has no right to my testimony," Pence said. "We have a separation of powers under the Constitution of the United States. I believe it would establish a terrible precedent for the Congress to summon a vice president of the United States to speak about deliberations that took place at the White House."
Pence, though now adamant against sitting before the committee, said he otherwise expects to speak about the Jan. 6 attack "to some degree for the rest of my life" and has been doing so in interviews or town halls with ABC, CBS, CNN and others.
John Minchillo/AP
As then-vice president, Pence was at the U.S. Capitol when rioters breached the building and was forced to hide at an underground location for hours before Congress was able to certify President Joe Biden's electoral victory.
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Pence has beenpraised repeatedly by committee membersfor standing up to former President Donald Trump's pressure campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential race.
Pence hasn't minced words of late when it comes to Trump's behavior, telling ABC News' David Muir earlier this week that Trump's words on Jan. 6 were "reckless" and endangered his life and the lives of others.
In an exclusive interview, Pence told Muir about thefirst discussionhe had with Trump in the aftermath of the insurrection, about whether heregretted his own rhetoricin the aftermath of the election and why Trumpwasn't taking callsduring the riot.
Pence has also recently delivered critiques of the Jan. 6 panel. Speaking with CBS, he accused the committee of being partisan.
Committee chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and vice chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., pushed back on Pence in a statement on Wednesday.
"The Select Committee has proceeded respectfully and responsibly in our engagement with Vice President Pence, so it is disappointing that he is misrepresenting the nature of our investigation while giving interviews to promote his new book," the two lawmakers said.
Thompson and Cheney said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., had the opportunity to appoint Republicans to the panel but chose not to. The two Republicans who serve on the committee -- Cheney and Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, both vocal Trump critics and departing members of the House -- were appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"The Select Committee has consistently praised the former Vice President's refusal to bow to former President Trump's pressure to illegally refuse to count electoral votes on January 6th," Thompson and Cheney said. "But his recent statements about the Select Committee are not accurate."
The committee has not subpoenaed Pence but has subpoenaed Trump for documents and testimony in a historic move.
Trump sued to block the subpoena and the committee has since said it's evaluating all of its options to try and compel his participation.
