Mike Pence would only consider pardoning Trump if he's found guilty, wants to 'clean house' at DOJ

SIOUX CITY, Iowa ? Former Vice President Mike Pence said it would be appropriate to consider pardoning Donald Trump only if the former president were found guilty of a crime.

Pence, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was asked by an Iowan at a campaign stop in Sioux City late Wednesday whether he would consider pardoning Trump "like Ford pardoned Nixon."

"I’ve been a governor. I’ve actually pardoned people," Pence said. "And I think any pardon that you could conduct would only be appropriate to consider after somebody has been found guilty. And I don’t know why some of my competitors in the Republican primary assume the president’s going to be found guilty."

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Trump was federally indicted in June on 37 counts related to withholding and concealing classified documents after he left the White House, and of obstructing justice. He has pleaded not guilty.

Some Republicans running for the White House have said they would pardon Trump or consider a pardon for him if they were elected president.

When the questioner pointed out that President Richard Nixon was never convicted of a crime, Pence joked that "that's a very good rebuttal. I'm very impressed with that."

But, he said, Nixon admitted guilt and resigned from office.

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Mike Pence promises to 'clean house' at the Justice Department

In response to a separate question Wednesday about a "two-tiered justice system," Pence promised to "clean house" at the Justice Department if elected.

"The American people have lost confidence in the Justice Department, and on Day 1 if I’m president of the United States, we’re going to clean house of all the senior leadership at the Justice Department," Pence said. "We’re going to put men and women in all the positions of authority, whether it’s attorney general, whether its director of the FBI, who are respected by people on both sides of the aisle for their integrity and their commitment to the rule of law."

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Mike Pence tells voter he had 'no authority' to reject electoral votes on Jan. 6

Another member of the crowd told Pence that "if it wasn't for your vote we would not have Joe Biden in the White House," referring to Pence's role presiding over Congress' counting of electoral votes in the 2020 election. Trump had pressured Pence to reject several states' electoral votes, which Pence said he had no authority to do.

"Do you ever second-guess yourself?" she asked him.

Pence said he kept his oath to the Constitution, but the issue "continues to be misunderstood."

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"The Constitution says you open and count the votes. No more, no less," Pence said. "The Constitution affords no authority to the vice president or anyone else to reject votes or to return votes to the states. It’s never been done before. It shouldn’t be done in the future. I’m sorry, ma’am, but that’s actually what the Constitution says. No vice president in American history ever asserted the authority that you have been convinced that I had."

Speaking to reporters after the event, Pence said he's heartened by voters who approach him to thank him for what he did on Jan. 6. And he welcomes the opportunity to talk with voters who disagree with him.

"I think this is an issue where we’ve got to take our case to folks that frankly have been told ... something different about what happened that day."

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Pence talks Trump pardon, Jan. 6 riots, wants to 'clean house' at DOJ