February 16, 2023: -Former Vice President Mike Pence plans to contest a subpoena issued to him regarding the special counsel which invests ex-President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, a person known with the matter told on Tuesday.

Pence will argue that his retired role in government protects him from having to match with special counselling Jack Smith’s subpoena for his testimony, the person stated who then confirmed Politico’s reporting on the retired-vice president’s legal strategy.

Regarding the U.S. Constitution, the vice president is the president of the Senate. Pence is serving in that role under Trump. He will argue that he is covered by the constitutional protections given to people of the legislative branch, including a clause that protects them from legal threats from their legislative work.

Pence, considered a potential 2024 presidential contender, is anticipated to discuss the subpoena while visiting the critical primary state of Iowa on Wednesday.

In November, Smith was appointed special counsel to head criminal searches into whether Trump unlawfully came in between with the transfer of power following President Joe Biden’s loss in the 2020 election.

As part of a multi-pronged effort to change his loss, Trump had pressured Pence to deny key Electoral College votes when he was present over more than a joint session of Congress confirming Biden’s victory on January 6, 2021. Following Pence’s refusal, a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, which forced the vice president and the people of Congress to flee their chambers.

Trump, concealing defeat and continuing to spread false claims of election fraud even following leaving the White House, has repeatedly attacked Pence as lacking the “fearlessness” to defy his obligation to ensure Biden’s electoral victory.

The subpoena to a high-profile official such as Pence, which was first reported last week, suggests that Smith’s investigation is closer to its conclusion, Politico stated. But Pence’s future challenge to the subpoena could prolong the special counsel’s efforts due to his legal argument being unsettled mainly in the courts.