Jonathan Karl discussed his new book on the chaotic final weeks of the Trump presidency.- The ABC veteran said there are images of
Mike Pence hiding in a basement during the Capitol riot.
Journalist Jonathan Karl said he had seen pictures of Vice President Mike Pence in hiding during the January 6 riot but was not allowed to publish them in his new book on Donald Trump's final months in power.
Karl, a veteran White House correspondent for ABC News discussed his new book, "Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show," in an appearance on Stephen Colbert's show on Monday night.
The book contains new details about the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters, and events leading up to it.
-The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) November 9, 2021
Karl said that a White House photographer was with Pence on January 6 when he went to the Capitol to oversee the congressional process of certifying Joe Biden's victory in the 202 election.
Pence in carrying out his role defied pressure from Trump and his allies, who wanted him to attempt to reject the results.
According to Karl, the photographer took pictures of Pence in hiding in a basement in the Capitol as rioters broke through police lines and swarmed the building.
"I got ahold of the photographer, I actually saw all of the photographs," Karl said. "This is the Vice President of the United States, and he's like holed up in a basement."
"He was in a loading dock in an underground parking garage beneath the Capitol Complex," Karl said. "No place to sit. No desk, no chairs, no nothing. He was in this concrete parking garage."
Karl said in one of the images Pence appeared to be looking at his phone reading a tweet in which Trump attacked him.
"You can see, it kind of looks like Pence is grimacing," Karl said. "But you can never really tell."
Karl said that he expects that the Congressional committee appointed to investigate the January 6 riot would want to see the pictures, which he stressed were taken by the photographer as part of his government work.
"They're your photos. They're everybody's photos here," Karl said, gesturing towards the audience.
But, he said, he had not been given permission to reproduce them in the book.
Pence was a focus of the rage of the protesters on January 6, some of whom chanted slogans calling for his execution. Others built a gallows outside the Capitol.
Pence has defended his decision not attempt to follow Trump's demands and attempt to block Biden's certification - a move which would lie outside his constitutional authority.
"You've got to be willing to do your duty," Pence told students at a University of Iowa event last week.