Special counsel seeks to compel Mike Pence to testify about January 6

The compulsion motion against Pence marks a pre-emptive move by the special counsel to rebut the executive privilege arguments before Pence had even made an appearance before the federal grand jury in Washington DC pursuant to a subpoena issued last month, the sources said.

While Pence has suggested he would contest the subpoena, the Guardian has previously reported that is understood to involve him at least appearing before the grand jury and asserting the so-called speech or debate protection for congressional officials to specific questions.

Howell, who has generally ruled in favor of the government on executive privilege disputes, even if they do take months to resolve, is slated to step down on 16 March. She will be replaced as the chief judge by James Boasberg, who previously oversaw the secret foreign surveillance court.