The investigation into the January 6 Capitol riot, and more recently the handling of classified documents by both former President Donald Trump and his vice president, Mike Pence, continues. And after months of negotiation with Mike Pence’s legal team, the former vice president was issued a subpoena by special Counsel Jack Smith.

Smith is the latest to join the investigation. He was appointed in November by Attorney General Merrick Garland. By subpoenaing Pence, it is viewed that he is escalating the probe to a new level.

Pence is fully cooperating with officials and will willingly testify in court. At the same time, Pence’s team is also working with the FBI in regard to the classified documents found in his possession in January. 

It is not yet clear what specific information Smith is looking for. However, with more classified material found in Pence’s possession, the investigation may take a new turn.

Trump spoke up about the situation the same day, during an exclusive interview on Fox News Digital, expressing his thoughts on both the handling of the investigation and Pence himself.

New Documents Discovered

On Friday, an official FBI search was conducted of his Indiana home and office. No warrant was issued as Pence consented to the search. The search led to the discovery of more official documents but only one was labeled as classified. 

A statement was issued by Pence’s team soon after: “The Department of Justice completed a thorough and unrestricted search of five hours and removed one document with classified markings and six additional pages without such markings that were not discovered in the initial review by the vice-president’s counsel.”

Pence has previously admitted that the documents found earlier should not have been in his possession, adding, “Mistakes were made, and I take full responsibility.”

The U.S. Justice Department has not yet made a statement.

Trump Speaks Out

In the Friday interview, Trump continued to express his irritation with the situation, saying that it has gone on long enough. 

“I have been going through this for six years — for six years I have been going through this, and I am not going to go through it anymore,” he said, adding, “I hope the Republicans have the courage to fight this.”

Considering that Trump has so far been found innocent of the various accusations, such as the Russian collusion scandal, he finds that the investigation is and has never been fair.

It is the “worst politicization of justice in our country” from his view. "It is not acceptable. It is so unfair. It is so political."

With Pence now in the main picture, Trump is calling out both the FBI and the Justice Department for not doing their job. He believes that their efforts would be better off focusing on more pressing matters such as Hunter Biden’s laptop or the 2020 election interference by social media companies.

"Are they going to look into the FBI’s activities with Twitter and Facebook trying to rig the election? Are they going to look at the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop from hell, which would have made, according to pollsters, a 17-point difference in the election?" Trump asked, referring to the revelations of election-related censorship from the Twitter Files.

Trump’s Thoughts on Pence

Trump didn’t hold back during the interview and even shared his thoughts on what he really thought about Pence.

“Mike Pence is an honorable man," Trump stated.

Considering that Trump and his former vice president have had a rocky relationship since the 2020 election, this statement shows that Trump still considers Pence an ally. However, given that Trump “won’t partake” in the investigation any longer, there is no promise that he will actively support Pence during his testimony.