Mike Pence calls Justice Department subpoena 'unconstitutional,' says he will fight it

Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Mike Pence says he does not intend to submit to a subpoena from the Justice Department without a fight.

The former vice president told a crowd at a Minnesota rally that he will "fight" a subpoena ordering him to testify in the special counsel's investigation into former President Donald Trump and his actions leading up to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

Pence made stops in Minnesota and Iowa in support of a lawsuit filed by the Advancing American Freedom organization. The lawsuit is challenging a gender-affirming policy in the Linn-Mar Community School District in Cedar Rapids, KCRG reports.

"I'm going to fight the Biden DOJ's subpoena for me to appear before the grand jury because I believe it's unconstitutional, and it's unprecedented," Pence said. "No vice president has ever been subject to a subpoena to testify about the president with whom they served."

Special counsel Jack Smith directed Pence to submit relevant documents as the Justice Department continues to build its case against Trump, who allegedly orchestrated a plan to subvert the results of the 2020 election and subsequently incited the mob on Jan. 6.

According to The Hill, Pence said Trump will claim executive privilege as his defense against the department. Pence plans to argue "on the principle of separation of powers in the Constitution of the United States."

Pence continued, saying that he was acting as president of the Senate and, thus, a member of the legislative branch, which should protect him from being subpoenaed.

"We're prepared to take this fight into court," Pence said, reported by NBC News.