Pence team denies anonymous author's claim that he would have backed removal of Trump

By Justine Coleman - 11/07/19 07:33 AM EST
 

Vice President Pence’s team is denying a claim in a tell-all White House book from an anonymous author that the vice president would have backed a removal of President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump faces high stakes in meeting with Erdoğan amid impeachment drama Democrats worry they don't have right candidate to beat Trump Trump threatening to fire Mulvaney: report MORE under the 25th Amendment.

Pence spokeswoman Katie Waldman called the claim "FAKE NEWS" in a tweet late Wednesday in response to a HuffPost article about the book.  

Pence also dismissed the claim when asked about it during an appearance Thursday in Concord, N.H., where he filed paperwork to put Trump on the primary ballot in the state.
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“When those rumors came out a few years ago, I dismissed them then. I never heard any discussion in my entire tenure as vice president about the 25th amendment. And why would I?” Pence told reporters.
 
“The very notion of this ‘Anonymous,’ who wrote an editorial and now it is reported that they’ve written a book, is just appalling to me," Pence continued. "If there’s someone in our administration or served in our administration that doesn’t support this president, doesn’t support his agenda, they should do the honorable thing and resign.” 
 
"Those rumors, I dismissed them several years ago and I'm happy to dismiss them without qualification today," he added.
 
The anonymous author initially wrote an op-ed for The New York Times last year that claimed senior officials were balancing out the president’s instincts in office.

In “A Warning,” the book from the anonymous official, they reportedly write that senior officials were convinced Pence would back getting rid of Trump if most of the Cabinet agreed.

The author, described only as a “senior official in the Trump administration” by the Times, said senior White House officials were counting how many Cabinet members would support invoking the amendment and had no doubt Pence would back the move, according to HuffPost.  

The news outlet notes that the author writes that the conversations occurred after the president fired former FBI Director James ComeyJames Brien ComeyThere are poor ideas, bad ones and Facebook's Libra Trump has considered firing official who reported whistleblower complaint to Congress: report Broadcast, cable news networks to preempt regular programming for Trump impeachment coverage MORE, which sparked the appointment of former special counsel Robert MuellerRobert (Bob) Swan MuellerSpeier says impeachment inquiry shows 'very strong case of bribery' by Trump Gowdy: I '100 percent' still believe public congressional hearings are 'a circus' Comey: Mueller 'didn't succeed in his mission because there was inadequate transparency' MORE to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election, and “unhinged” behavior by the president.

The book comes out Nov. 19.

The 25th Amendment says the vice president would take over if a president is deemed unfit for office. It requires signatures from a majority of the Cabinet and then the vice president before being sent to Congress.

– Morgan Chalfant contributed

Updated: 12:18 p.m.

 
Tags Robert Mueller Donald Trump James Comey Mike Pence 25th Amendment vice president anonymous op-ed