- Raskin called Pence a "hero" on Jan. 6 for his rejecting Trump's push to overturn the 2020 election.
- "I think on that day he was a hero for resisting all of the pressure campaigns," he told NBC News.
- The congressman sits on the January 6 committee, which began holding public hearings this month.
Rep. Jamie Raskin on Sunday called former Vice President Mike Pence a "hero" for his actions on January 6, 2021, pointing to his rejection of then-President Donald Trump's pressure campaign to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," the Maryland Democrat — who was the lead manager for Trump's second impeachment trial and currently sits on the House panel investigating the January 6 insurrection — was asked by host Chuck Todd if he considered Pence to be a hero for dismissing the former president's demands.
"In a time of absolutely scandalous betrayal of people's oaths of office and crimes being committed all over the place, somebody who does their job and sticks to the law will stand out as a hero on that day," Raskin said.
He continued: "And I think on that day he was a hero for resisting all of the pressure campaigns and the coercive efforts to get him to play along with this continuation of the 'Big Lie,' this big joke that he could somehow call off all the proceedings himself."
Pence certified Biden's 306-232 Electoral College victory amid the riot that forced lawmakers to flee the House chamber until the Capitol was once again secure.
Raskin's interview comes after the January 6 panel last week offered their findings to the American people and had witnesses testify to the lengths at which Trump and many in his orbit sought to invalidate now-President Joe Biden's 2020 victory.
The congressman also responded to Trump's sustained attacks on Pence's decision and the work of the committee.
"He's essentially saying, 'Yeah, I did it, and I'll do it again,' which is what we have been contending all along, that if you allow impunity for attempts at unconstitutional seizures of power, which is what a coup is, then you're inviting it again in the future," he said. "And to be a strong, self-sustaining, self-respecting democracy, we can't allow people to decide that they are above the law and that they are more important than our constitutional processes."
Last week, Raskin told CNN that he wouldn't unduly pressure US Attorney General Merrick Garland on whether or not the Justice Department should prosecute Trump, but felt that the panel made the case for why the former president may have violated several criminal statutes.
"I think that he knows, his staff knows, the US attorneys know, what's at stake here," he said. "They know the importance of it, but I think they are rightfully paying close attention to precedent in history as well, as the facts of this case."