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In reply to the discussion: On 1/6, Pence Refused To Get In Secret Service Car Because He Didn't Trust Them [View all]reACTIONary
(7,436 posts).... in I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trumps Catastrophic Final Year. Rucker and Leonnig.
He wouldn't get in the "escape car" because he was adamant that he should stay in the capital building so as to defy the insurrectionists.
"Im not getting in the car, Tim, Pence replied. I trust you, Tim, but youre not driving the car. If I get in that vehicle, you guys are taking off. Im not getting in the car.
At 2:13, Pences Secret Service detail removed the vice president from the Senate floor and took him through a side door to his ceremonial office nearby, along with his wife, Karen, their daughter Charlotte, and his brother, Greg, a congressman from Indiana. The Pences were hurried across one of the Capitols many ornate marble hallways to get there, but the path proved eerily close to danger.
At that moment, Pence was still in his ceremonial office protected by Secret Service agents, but vulnerable because the second-floor office had windows that could be breached and the intruding thugs had gained control of the building. Tim Giebels, the lead special agent in charge of the vice presidents protective detail, twice asked Pence to evacuate the Capitol, but Pence refused. Im not leaving the Capitol, he told Giebels. The last thing the vice president wanted was the people attacking the Capitol to see his 20-car motorcade fleeing. That would only vindicate their insurrection.
The third time Giebels asked Pence to evacuate, it was more of an order than a request. Theyre in the building, Giebels said. The room youre in is not secure. There are glass windows. I need to move you. Were going.
At 2:26, after a team of agents scouted a safe path to ensure the Pences would not encounter trouble, Giebels and the rest of Pences detail guided them down a staircase to a secure subterranean area that rioters couldnt reach, where the vice presidents armored limousine awaited. Giebels asked Pence to get in one of the vehicles. We can hold here, he said.
Im not getting in the car, Tim, Pence replied. I trust you, Tim, but youre not driving the car. If I get in that vehicle, you guys are taking off. Im not getting in the car.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/15/jan-6-i-alone-can-fix-it-book-excerpt/