Steven Mnuchin testifies he talked to Pompeo about 25th Amendment despite Pompeo denial

Brady Knox

December 27, 05:41 PM December 27, 05:59 PM

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testified to the Jan. 6 committee that he talked to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about invoking the 25th Amendment against President Donald Trump despite Pompeo's denial.

The contradiction was found in the Tuesday dump of a number of testimony transcripts, which included that of Mnuchin.

Former Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, former Attorney General William Barr, and former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao also testified to the committee that they didn't recall any conversations about the 25th Amendment.

The apparent contradiction could lead to legal trouble for Mnuchin or Pompeo.

SUDDENLY, DEMOCRATS AREN’T CONCERNED ABOUT THE 25TH AMENDMENT

"Do you recall talking to Secretary Pompeo in General Milley's presence about the 25th Amendment?" Mnuchin was asked by the committee.

"I mean, I do recall speaking to Secretary Pompeo about the 25th Amendment. I don't recall it being in that circumstance, and I surely don't recall that I stopped the conversation when General Milley came up," he replied.

However, the conversation doesn't appear to have gone very far.

"[The 25th Amendment] came up very briefly in our conversation. [Pompeo and I] both believed that the best outcome was a normal transition of power, which was working, and neither one of us contemplated in any serious format the 25th Amendment," he added

He also admitted that he wasn't entirely familiar with the amendment, saying that the "only research I did out of curiosity was I googled it."

The 25th Amendment allows the president's Cabinet to deem him or her "unable to discharge the powers and duties" of office through a majority vote, ousting them in favor of the vice president.