The special counsel investigating Donald Trump's role in January 6 insurrection has reportedly subpoenaed former Vice President Mike Pence.

A source familiar with the situation told CNN special counsel Jack Smith's office is looking for documents and testimony related to the January 6 attack. According to CNN, they want Pence to testify about his interactions with the former president leading up to the 2020 election and the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The subpoena is a significant step in the Justice Department's two-year criminal investigation, now overseen by the special counsel, into Trump and associates' efforts to obstruct the transition of power after he lost in the 2020 election.

Pence is reportedly a crucial witness who documented in a memoir some of his meetings with Trump in the weeks following the election. This move likely opens the possibility for the Justice Department to overrule some of Trump's claims of executive privilege.

People familiar with the discussions said Pence would likely assert at least some limits on providing details of his direct conversations with the former president. Depending on Pence's responses, prosecutors can ask a judge to force him to answer more questions and reject Trump's executive privilege claims.

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Donald Trump Reacts to the Investigation

The criminal probe into preserving presidential records, including classified documents, at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, was assigned to Jack Smith in November.

Attorney General Merrick Garland designated him as special counsel who will look into documents and testimony related to the January 6 insurrection and Trump's possible mishandling of classified documents after leaving office. Last year, Trump called the probe "the worst politicization of justice in our country," adding that he "would not partake" in it.

"I have been going through this for six years - for six years I have been going through this, and I am not going to go through it anymore... I hope the Republicans have the courage to fight this," Trump previously told Fox News Digital in an interview.

"I have been proven innocent for six years on everything - from fake impeachments to [former special counsel Robert] Mueller who found no collusion, and now I have to do it more? It is not acceptable. It is so unfair. It is so political," he added.

Mike Pence's office has yet to comment about the subpoena. However, people familiar with the matter told CNN that the former vice president's team had indicated that he was open to discussing a possible deal with the Justice Department to provide some testimony.

Mike Pence's Role at the January 6 Riot

Donald Trump's last-ditch effort to stop President Joe Biden from taking office was to get Mike Pence to stop Congress from counting electoral votes that will confirm Biden's victory.

Pence's resistance infuriated Trump, and on January 6, 2021, a mob stormed and broke into the Capitol building, where the former vice president was presiding over the tally of electoral votes.

The fact that Pence has made public descriptions of his private encounters with Trump weeks leading up to the January 6 riot gives Smith a leg up in his pursuit of Pence's testimony, Politico reported.

In his recently released book, Pence told the former president that even his lawyers did not think courts would support his plan to have Pence overturn the results all by himself.

The subpoena can reportedly trigger an executive privilege fight if Pence or Trump appeal to a judge to rule some or all of their testimony to be off limits to prosecutors and the grand jury to protect White House deliberations, according to Politico.

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Former Vice President Mike Pence Subpoenaed by Special Counsel Investigating Trump - From MSNBC