Report: Pence considered backing out of vote-counting duties

ABC News is reporting that Columbus native and former Vice President Mike Pence considered backing out of the duties of counting the electoral votes on Jan. 6th, 2021.  However a plea from his Marine son kept the vice president on duty.

According to the report, which cited Pence’s discussions with special counsel Jack Smith’s team of investigators, Pence concluded on Christmas Eve 2020 that he would follow a suggestion from then-President Donald Trump to abstain from the duties, instead letting them fall to someone else. Pence wrote in his notes that he didn’t want to hurt his friend, the president, and there were too many questions about the election to proceed.

However, Pence’s son, a Marine on leave in Colorado, stressed to his father that the vice president took the same oath as service members to support and defend the U.S. Constiutuion.

Pence went on to oversee the vote-counting process, drawing condemnation from Trump and his supporters.