According to reports, the former chief of staff for former Vice President Mike Pence testified before a federal grand jury focusing on the January 6 riots last week.

CNN and ABC News have reported that Pence's aide, Marc Short, testified before the grand jury in response to a subpoena. Short was present in the US Capitol as pro-Donald Trump demonstrators converged on the building.

"I believe that how the Capitol was ransacked posed a risk and liability," Short told ABC News. "I believe the Secret Service performed an outstanding job that day.

"I honestly believe that if the mob had gotten closer to the vice president on that day, there would have been a massacre in the Capitol, despite how it may have been characterized in the hearings last week," the speaker said.

He stated on CNN on Monday that that was his only appearance before the grand jury but made no additional comment.

Short also appeared before the House committee investigating the Capitol intrusion.

During one of the panel's meetings last month, Short's video testimony revealed that Pence informed Trump "many times" that he did not support measures to overturn the election, such as rejecting electors or declaring Trump the winner.

The Justice Department is investigating the possibility of criminal activity related to efforts by Trump associates to change the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Democrat Joe Biden won.

Attorney General Merrick Garland stated last week that the probe is the most significant and extensive in the history of the Justice Department.

He said, "No one is above the law."

In a January 2022 address to DOJ staff, he threatened to prosecute anyone responsible for the January 6 riots, regardless of their physical presence. He stated that prosecutors were "committed to holding accountable all January 6th perpetrators at any level."