Pence’s former chief of staff testifies before Jan. 6 committee

Marc Short, who was chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, recently testified before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed Monday to NBC News.

One of the sources said the deposition took place Wednesday, confirming a CNN report.

The committee declined to comment, and Short could not immediately be reached.

The testimony from Short, one of the highest-ranking Trump administration officials to meet with the committee, follows a subpoena and earlier engagement with the panel. NBC News reported last month that Short had been engaging with the committee.

Short was with Pence in the Capitol on Jan. 6 when a pro-Trump mob stormed the building as the vice president was presiding over the counting of the electoral votes from President Joe Biden’s victory in November. His willingness to testify is noteworthy given that some of former President Donald Trump’s allies have resisted the Jan. 6 committee’s efforts to investigate the attack on the Capitol.

Trump has continued to lash out at Pence, including in a statement Sunday when he said the former vice president “could have overturned the Election!”

The head of the Jan. 6 committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said earlier this month that the panel would ask Pence to voluntarily meet with lawmakers.

“Our committee really needs to hear what are his opinions about what happened on Jan. 6,” Thompson told NPR.

Pence and Trump had a falling out ahead of the Jan. 6 riot, after the vice president rejected Trump’s demand that he not sign off on the counting of the electoral votes and instead try to send the election back to the the states. Some in the crowd during the attack on the Capitol were chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” after finding out he refused to go along with the scheme.

Trump defended the chanting protesters in an interview with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl recorded in March.

“It’s common sense, Jon. It’s common sense that you’re supposed to protect,” Trump said at the time. “How can you, if you know a vote is fraudulent, right, how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress?”