Former Vice President Mike Pence backed former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows after he claimed then-President Donald Trump did not declassify documents en masse before leaving office.
On Sunday, ABC News reported Meadows did not know of any attempt for the mass declassification of documents before Trump left office. Trump faces more than two dozen counts in a classified documents case in Miami.
"As you know, Donald Trump has claimed that all those documents he took with him to Mar-a-Lago, he had declassified," ABC host Jonathan Karl explained to Pence. "But we are learning that Meadows has told investigators that he knew of no such broad declassification order from Donald Trump."
"Had you heard anything to suggest that the president had issued an order, even a standing order, declassifying documents like that?" he asked.
"I can't really comment on your reporting, but in my case, I was never made aware of any broad-based effort to declassify documents," Pence revealed.
The former vice president recalled that the White House occasionally declassified documents.
"I'm aware of that occurring on several occasions over the course of our four years, but I don't have any knowledge of any broad-based directive from the president," he added.
