美国前副总统迈克·彭斯周三表示，他“无法为前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)最近的起诉书中的指控进行辩护”，这似乎比他此前就司法部指控其前竞选伙伴的决定采取的立场更强硬。
尽管如此，彭斯表示，他在周末阅读了这份49页的文件，重申了他对司法部针对特朗普部署“双层司法系统”的指控，并表示他将推迟做出最终判决，直到前总统出庭受审。
“这份起诉书包含严重的指控，我无法为指控辩护，”他告诉记者美国消费者新闻与商业频道的“应答机”周三，他将这个问题与他家庭的军事服务和他自己的安全检查经历个人化。“这里所指控的事情发生的可能性——创造了一个高度敏感的机密材料可能落入坏人手中的机会，即使是无意的——这危及我们的国家安全，并使我们武装部队的男男女女处于危险之中。”
“我无法为指控辩护，但前总统有权在法庭上辩护，”彭斯重复道。“我只是不能——我不能相信政治在这里没有发挥作用。”
这些评论反映了前副总统对国会的评论华尔街日报编辑委员会周二下午，就在特朗普在迈阿密联邦法院对特别顾问杰克·史密斯提出的与他处理机密材料有关的37项指控不认罪之后。
“作为目前在美国武装部队服役的两个人的父亲和岳父，我永远不会减少对机密材料处理的担忧，”彭斯说。“据称由总统掌握的文件——描述了我们国家的防御能力，美国和我们盟友的潜在弱点——如果这些材料无意中落入外国利益集团手中，将危及我们国家的安全以及我们武装部队的安全。”
“特朗普总统有权出庭，我将怀着极大的兴趣听取他的辩护，并在总统有机会陈述其观点后，就此事做出任何判断，”他继续说道。“但我会告诉你...我在司法部经历了多年的政治化，我和数百万美国人一样关注政治的影响。”
“我想强调的是，当我们看起诉书时，这只是故事的一面，”彭斯周二补充道。特朗普否认了所有不当行为的指控。
DOJ途经美国佛罗里达州南部地区
他说，起诉书“主张在这个国家有一个新的开始”，并在两次采访中发誓，如果当选总统，将“清理”司法部和联邦调查局。
他对美国消费者新闻与商业频道说:“我们要做的第一件事就是清理司法部最高层的人员，让那些无可指责的、受到两党尊重的人加入进来。”。“我们必须尊重这个国家的法治，尊重所有执法人员。”
当被问及他如何能够“纠正”他的“没有人凌驾于法律之上”的观点，呼应特朗普破坏司法部的努力时，彭斯说，“我不认为有任何循环可以纠正。”
“我认为今天有两件事是正确的:第一，没有人可以凌驾于法律之上。这份起诉书包括严重的指控。我无法为那里的指控辩护。处理机密材料对国家至关重要，”他说。“但是，你看，我们已经经历了大约——试着在这里计算一下——大约七年的时间，美国人民已经对我们的司法部失去了信心。”
周五，在新罕布什尔州玛丽安餐厅的竞选活动中，当起诉书被公开时，被问及特朗普是否应该退出竞选就像一些竞争对手说的彭斯称这“为时过早”。
“我认为前总统有权为自己辩护。我们将尊重这一权利，”他说。
虽然彭斯没有呼吁特朗普结束他的总统竞选，但他用了同一个词——“不成熟”——来描述一推来自党内其他人的呼吁，以激发对特朗普当选后赦免他的承诺的广泛支持。
“我非常重视赦免权。这是一个处于高管职位的人非常重要的权力，我只是认为现在谈论这个问题还为时过早，伙计们，”彭斯告诉保守派电台主持人克雷·特拉维斯，这项努力由企业家和2024年有望成为总统的维韦克·拉马斯瓦米带头。
彭斯当时还说，在有机会审查起诉书之前，他希望司法部“能够清楚地解决与前总统的这些问题，而不提出指控。”
更多:不，唐纳德·特朗普的机密文件案不同于乔·拜登或希拉里·克林顿案
彭斯说:“我希望司法部，无论针对前总统的案件进展如何，都将继续对拜登总统及其家人进行调查，”他指的是正在进行的对拜登可能不当处理机密文件的调查。
彭斯在自己的机密材料案件中被判无罪，今年早些时候，他在另一个联邦大陪审团面前作证，调查他的前竞选伙伴试图推翻2020年大选。
对特朗普的起诉是在彭斯之后几天提出的发起了他的运动共和党总统候选人提名。特朗普在提名竞争中遥遥领先，他甚至取得了一些进展在特朗普在纽约首次被起诉后进行的ABC新闻民意调查中。特朗普对他在纽约面临的重罪指控不认罪。
Mike Pence offers tougher stance after reading Trump indictment
Former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday he "cannot defend what is alleged" in the most recent indictment against former President Donald Trump, a seemingly tougher stance than he had previously taken regarding the Justice Department's decision to charge his former running mate.
Still, Pence, who said he read the 49-page document over the weekend, reiterated his accusation that the Justice Department deployed a "two-tiered system of justice" against Trump and said he would hold off on giving his final judgment until the former president has had his day in court.
"This indictment contains serious charges, and I cannot defend what is alleged," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday, personalizing the issue both with his family's military service and his own experiences with security clearance. "The very prospect that what is alleged here took place -- creating an opportunity where highly sensitive classified material could have fallen into the wrong hands, even inadvertently -- that jeopardizes our national security [and] puts at risk the men and women of our Armed Forces."
"I can't defend what is alleged, but the former president has a right to his day in court," Pence repeated. "I just can't -- I can't believe that politics didn't play some role here."
The comments mirrored those the former vice president gave to the Wall Street Journal's editorial board on Tuesday afternoon, just after Trump pleaded not guilty in a Miami federal court house to 37 counts brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith related to his handling of classified materials.
"As the father and father-in-law of two men that currently serve in the Armed Forces of the United States, I will never diminish concerns over the handling of classified materials," Pence said. "The documents that were alleged to be in the president's possession -- describing defense capabilities of our country, potential vulnerabilities of the United States and our allies -- if these materials had ever inadvertently made their way in the hands of foreign interests, it would jeopardize the security of our country as well as the safety and security of our Armed Forces."
"President Trump is entitled to his day in court, and I'm going to listen with great interest to his defense and will render any judgment about this matter after the president has had the opportunity to make his case," he continued. "But I will tell you ... I've lived through years of politicization at the Department of Justice, and I share the concern of millions of Americans about the way politics has played a hand."
"I want to emphasize that when we look at an indictment, it's only one side of the story," Pence added Tuesday. Trump has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
DOJ via US Southern District of Florida
He said the indictment "argues for a fresh start in this country" and vowed in both interviews to "clean house" at the Department of Justice and FBI if elected president.
"One of the first things we're going to do is clean house at the highest level of the Department of Justice and bring in men and women who are above reproach, who are respected on both sides of the aisle," he told CNBC. "We've got to have respect for the rule of law in this country and for all those that enforce the laws."
Asked then how he's able to "square" his line that "no one's above the law" with his echoing of Trump's efforts to undermine the Justice Department, Pence said, "I don't think there's any circle to square."
"I think two things are true today: Number one is no one's above the law. This indictment includes serious charges. I can't defend what's alleged there. The handling of classified materials is vitally important to the country," he said. "But look, we've gone through about -- trying to do the math here -- about out seven years where the American people have lost confidence in our Department of Justice."
Asked on Friday while campaigning at MaryAnn's Diner New Hampshire, as the indictment was unsealed, whether Trump should drop out of the race like some competitors say, Pence called that "premature."
"I think the former president has a right to make his defense. And we'll respect that right," he said.
While Pence did not call for Trump to end his presidential bid, he used the same term -- "premature" -- to describe a push from others in the party to galvanize widespread support for a pledge to pardon Trump if elected.
"I take the pardon authority very seriously. It's an enormously important power of someone in an executive position, and I just think it's premature to have a conversation about that right now, guys," Pence told conservative radio host Clay Travis of the effort, spearheaded by entrepreneur and 2024 hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy.
Pence also said at that time, before having had a chance to review the indictment, that he'd hoped the Department of Justice "would see its way clear to resolve these issues with the former president without moving forward with charges."
"I would hope that the Department of Justice, however the case against the former president proceeds, will proceed on the inquiry of President Biden and also his family with equal vigor," Pence said, referring to the ongoing investigation into Biden's potential mishandling of classified documents.
Pence, who was cleared of all charged in his own classified materials case, testified earlier this year before a different federal grand jury investigating his former running mate on efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The indictment against Trump came just days after Pence launched his campaign for the Republican nomination for president. Trump holds a comfortable lead in the race for the nomination, and he even gained some ground in the primary in an ABC News poll conducted after Trump's first indictment in New York. Trump pleaded not guilty to the felony charges he faced in New York City.
