Mike Pence ruling suggests VPs have protections presidents don’t

A recent court ruling indicates that Vice Presidents are entitled to rights to immunity that Presidents do not have. The ruling requires former Vice President Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury about events surrounding Jan. 6. The ruling confirms that vice presidents get their rights to immunity from their role in Congress rather than the executive branch.

Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who presided over the ruling, determined that vice presidents are protected from testifying about particular topics related to their duties in Congress through the “speech or debate” clause. This constitutional rule offers members of Congress, including vice presidents, immunity from law enforcement inquiries related to the execution of their official duties.

This decision marks the first time a court has declared that vice presidents are entitled to immunity in the same way as Presidents and Congress members. Pence, in response to the ruling, expressed his pleasure that the protections of the Constitution apply to his work as a former vice president.

It is worth noting that Pence still has to testify in front of a grand jury

As President of the Senate, a position named in the Constitution, the vice president’s job is mainly ceremonial. The president usually assigns them to serve the executive branch. However, the vice president can preside over the count of electoral votes of a presidential election every four years and cast tiebreaking votes.

Previously, former President Donald Trump opposed the subpoena on executive privilege grounds. The court rejected the claims. Even though Pence did not agree with Trump’s rationale, the former vice president argued that his role presiding over Congress on Jan. 6 should provide him with speech-or-debate immunity.

Pence is debating whether to appeal the decision on the grounds that it did not go far enough in its protections.

The Supreme Court has previously stated that the “speech or debate” clause offers lawmakers immunity for “legislative” duties, such as voting on bills and giving speeches on the floor of Congress. However, it does not provide immunity for conversations that Pence had with Trump before certification. Pence has indicated his willingness to testify about his conversations with Trump before the attack on the Capitol.

On Jan. 6, 2021, before the incident, Trump pushed Pence to refuse to count Biden’s electoral votes, but Pence refused and eventually certified the results.