Former Vice President Mike Pence will not appeal a judge's ruling ordering him to testify before a grand jury probing efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election, his spokesperson said Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Former Vice President Mike Pence will not appeal a judge's ruling ordering him to testify before a grand jury probing efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election

  • Pence was subpoenaed earlier this year by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith as part of an investigation into attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election

  • The former vice president and his attorneys argued that he was protected from being forced to testify under the Constitution's “speech or debate” clause because of his role as president of the Senate on Jan. 6, 2021

  • A federal judge ruled last month that Pence must testify, setting up the historic and unprecedented scenario of a former vice president testifying against the president he served alongside, but determined that he would not have to testify about his role overseeing Congress' counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6

"Vice President Pence will not appeal the Judge’s ruling and will comply with the subpoena as required by law," his spokesperson, Devin O’Malley, said in a statement Wednesday.

Pence was subpoenaed earlier this year by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith as part of an investigation into attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The former vice president and his attorneys argued that he was protected from being forced to testify under the Constitution's “speech or debate” clause because of his role on Jan. 6, 2021, which is intended to protect members of Congress from questioning about official legislative acts.

A federal judge ruled last month that Pence must testify, setting up the historic and unprecedented scenario of a former vice president testifying against the president he served alongside, but determined that he would not have to testify about his role as president of the Senate overseeing the counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6. 

Lawyers for Trump objected to the subpoena on executive privilege grounds, but U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg rejected those arguments.

O'Malley went on to say that Pence "prevailed" in his attempt to argue that parts of his testimony should be shielded on those grounds.

"The court’s landmark and historic ruling affirmed for the first time in history that the speech or debate clause extends to the vice president of the United States," Pence's spokesperson said. "Having vindicated that principle of the Constitution, Vice President Pence will not appeal the judge’s ruling and will comply with the subpoena as required by law."

Multiple Trump aides have already appeared before the federal grand jury, as well as before a separate panel examining allegations of Trump mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.