It is expected that former federal judge J. Michael Luttig, who was an informal adviser to then-Vice President Mike Pence, will testify Thursday before a House select committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Expected topics of discussion at Thursday’s session include Trump and his associates’ attempts at pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to defy a clear mandate from the people on January 6. Greg Jacob, Pence’s chief legal counsel, will join Luttig as a witness.
Who Is judge Luttig?
Former United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia, John Michael Luttig (born June 13, 1954) is an American lawyer and judge.
Adolescence and Schooling.
Tyler, Texas-native Luttig Was Born in 1954, Making Him the Oldest of Three Children. After High School, He Attended Washington and Lee University, Where He Earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honors from The Fraternity Known as Omicron Delta Kappa in 1976. While Serving as The Administrative Assistant to The Chief Justice of The United States Supreme Court, Luttig Formed a Close Bond with Chief Justice Warren Burger During the Years 1976 to 1978. Afterward, He Studied Law at The University of Virginia, Graduating in 1981 with A Juris Doctor Degree.
Career.
After graduating from Law School, Luttig Worked for White House Counsel Fred F. Fielding for A Year After Burger Recommended Him for The Position. Reviewing and Verifying Ideological Compatibility with Government Policy Were Among Luttig’s Duties. One of The Potential Jurists He Vetted in His Previous Employment Was Antonin Scalia, Who He Clerked for From 1982 to 1983 at The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeal.
from 1983 to 1984, Luttig Worked as One of Burger’s Law Clerks at The U.S. Supreme Court. He Later Served as Co-Executor of Burger’s One-Page Will, Which Acquired Attention for Burger’s Omission to Specify how Estate Taxes Should Be Paid. Luttig as A Special Assistant to Burger until 1985, Luttig Worked for Davis Polk & Wardwell in The Washington, D.C., Office.
On January 6, Vice President Mike Pence Wrote a Letter Citing the Legal Reasoning of Former 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Robert Luttig, Who Was Appointed by Previous President George H.W. Bush.
The only Responsibility.
Vice President Mike Pence Wrote in A Letter that “the only Responsibility and Power of The Vice President Under the Constitution Is to Faithfully Count the Electoral College Votes as They Have Been Cast, Adding ‘the Constitution Does Not Empower the Vice President to Alter in Any Way the Votes that Have Been Cast, Either by Rejecting Certain Votes or Otherwise,'” He Wrote.
Luttig Worked as A Conservative Lawyer for Many Years Before Joining Pence’s Inner Circle. He worked in The Office of White House Counsel for Roughly a Year During the Reagan Administration. Antonin Scalia and Warren Burger Were Among the Supreme Court Justices Luttig Clerked for While He Was on The Federal Appeals Court. During the Presidency of George H.W. Bush, Luttig served as Assistant Attorney General in Charge of The Office of Legal Counsel of The Department of Justice.
Luttig Was Nominated by President Bush.
A Federal Appeals Court Judge, Luttig Was Nominated by President Bush in April 1991 and Considered for The Supreme Court by George W. Bush. For 13 Years, Luttig Served as Boeing’s General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs Before Departing in May 2019. Pence’s Inner Circle Sought Luttig’s Help Less than Two Years After His Resignation as The Vice President Faced Mounting Pressure from Trump to Reject the Election Results on Jan. 6.
“frontline” Interviewed Luttig for Two Hours About His Thoughts on The 2020 Election, and It Was Richard Cullen, Pence’s Personal Lawyer and Luttig’s Longstanding Friend, Who First Sparked His Interest in The Race when He Called Him on The Evening of Jan. 4. No, I’ve Never Heard of Him. when Cullen Queried Luttig About Trump’s Campaign Counsel Who Was Urging Pence to Reject the Electoral College Votes, He Referred to Luttig as Trump.
Luttig as A Law Clerk in The Past.
Eastman Worked for Luttig as A Law Clerk in The Past. ‘well, Richard, You Can Tell the Vice President that I Said that He Has No Such Authority at All,’ Luttig Replied in Response, According to A Pbs Interview.
On the morning of January 5, Luttig Told Pbs that He Was Still in Touch with Cullen, Who Had Requested Him to Get His “voice out There.” They Agreed that Luttig Would Make a Twitter Post in Which He Would Express His Thoughts. at 9:53 Am on Jan. 5, He Posted the Thread, and Pence Acknowledged It the Next Day in His Letter.
The Electoral Slates.
Luttig Told Pbs He Had a Phone Conversation with Pence the Day After the Disturbance, on Jan. 7. As a result of The Uprising, Luttig Has Been an Outspoken Proponent of Changes to The Voting Count Act. “plainly Unlawful,” Luttig Said in A New York Times Guest Post in February 2022, Adding that Revisions Are Necessary to “shore up Our Crumbling Democracy.”
According to Him, Congress Does Not Have the Authority to Rule on The Legitimacy of The Electoral Slates Submitted by The States. Congress Has No Participation in The Selection of The President, Except in Cases Where No Candidate Obtains a Majority of The Electoral College Votes.
