Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to cling to his office after he lost his bid for re-election, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The move by the Justice Department sets up a likely clash over executive privilege, which Mr. Trump has previously used to try to slow, delay and block testimony from former administration officials in various investigations into his conduct.
The existence of the subpoena was reported earlier by ABC News.
It was not immediately clear when the special counsel, Jack Smith, sought Mr. Pence’s testimony. The move is among the most aggressive yet by Mr. Smith in his wide-ranging investigation into Mr. Trump’s role in seeking to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election and a parallel inquiry into Mr. Trump’s handling of classified documents.
The New York Times previously reported that the Justice Department was interested in questioning Mr. Pence in connection with the investigation into Mr. Trump’s efforts to remain in power after he lost the 2020 election.
An aide to Mr. Pence declined to confirm the existence of the subpoena. A Justice Department official did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Pence was at the center of Mr. Trump’s last gasp to hold on to power in the two months after his election loss. Mr. Trump seized on Mr. Pence’s ceremonial role in overseeing the congressional certification of the Electoral College results to try to press his vice president into blocking or delaying the outcome on Jan. 6, 2021.
Mr. Pence refused, a fact highlighted publicly by Mr. Trump as he stirred up a crowd of his supporters that day before they marched to the Capitol and breached it. Some of the rioters were heard chanting, “Hang Mike Pence.”
Mr. Pence is a potential rival to Mr. Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Mr. Trump has frequently tried to assert executive privilege when officials have sought testimony from people who worked for him in the White House. He has generally been unsuccessful, but those battles over what matters are covered by privilege have slowed some of the investigations.
