By Katelyn Polantz, Paula Reid and Zachary Cohen

A federal judge has chosen that former Vice President Mike Pence must affirm to a grand jury about conversations he had with Donald Trump leading up to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, according to several sources familiar with a recent federal court ruling.

The judge stated-- in a judgment that remains under seal-- that Pence can still decrease to address questions related to his actions on January 6 itself, when he was serving as president of the Senate for the accreditation of the 2020 presidential election, according to one of the sources.

Pence still has the capability to appeal. Trump has consistently lost executive advantage assertions he's attempted to make in the special counsel's examination.

It's another win for special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating the Trump-aligned effort to subvert the 2020 election. Smith subpoenaed Pence for testament and files previously this year.

Days after news broke of the subpoena, Pence and his advisors indicated that the previous vice president would challenge the subpoena under the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause, which guards lawmakers from certain police actions connected to their legislative responsibilities.

"I am going to fight the Biden DOJ subpoena for me to appear prior to the grand jury due to the fact that I believe it's unmatched and unconstitutional," Pence stated at an event in February. He has actually suggested that-- due to the fact that he was also functioning as president of the Senate during the January 6 certification vote-- the constitutional clause covered the conduct that detectives are taking a look at.

The obstacle in court has played out in trick, in front of Judge James Boasberg, who just recently became primary judge of DC's federal district court.

Pence's claims, as he has described them publicly, are viewed as unique. His arguments drew in criticism from a broad series of legal scholars, consisting of former Judge Michael Luttig, a conservative legal luminary who advised Pence on how he need to approach the 2021 accreditation vote.

Even as Pence has combated the subpoena, he has actually waited his rejection to interrupt the congressional certification of President Joe Biden's win, as Trump hired him to do.