The small however potent comma would possibly appear to be an innocuous a part of English grammar, however generally it will probably transform the that means of a sentence — as within the outdated instance, “Lets eat, Grandma,” vs. “Lets eat Grandma.” And generally, a misplaced comma could make the distinction relating to proof of a Trump trial, as is the case with what Vice President Mike Pence says he did not imply to put in writing.
The sentence in query comes from Pence’s e-book, So Assist Me God, through which he mentioned he advised Donald Trump proper earlier than the Capitol rebellion, “, I do not assume I’ve the authority to alter the end result.” However what Pence actually meant, he later advised particular counsel Jack Smith’s workforce, was, ” I do not assume I’ve the authority to alter the end result.”
It is perhaps a delicate distinction, however the commaless model “adjustments the tenor and that means of what he reportedly advised Trump from an off-the-cuff apart to a extra declarative command,” as Mediaite places it.
From ABC Information:
As described to ABC Information, a lot of what the previous vp advised Smith’s investigators mirrored — and at occasions restated verbatim — feedback he has beforehand made publicly. Questions from Smith’s workforce repeatedly targeted on a e-book Pence printed final 12 months, with investigators apparently searching for to have Pence affirm — underneath oath — an array of post-election tales and opinions he included within the e-book. …
Sources mentioned that in not less than one interview with Pence, Smith’s investigators pressed the previous vp on private notes he took after conferences with Trump and others, which investigators obtained from the Nationwide Archives. …
Sources mentioned that investigators’ questioning grew to become so granular at occasions that they pressed Pence over the location of a comma in his e-book: When recounting a cellphone name with Trump on Christmas Day 2020, Pence wrote in his e-book that he advised Trump, “, I do not assume I’ve the authority to alter the end result” of the election on Jan. 6.
However Pence allegedly advised Smith’s investigators that the comma ought to have by no means been positioned there. Based on sources, Pence advised Smith’s investigators that he truly meant to put in writing in his e-book that he admonished Trump, ” I do not assume I’ve the authority to alter the end result,” suggesting Trump was nicely conscious of the restrictions of Pence’s authority days earlier than Jan. 6 — a line Smith consists of in his indictment.