Mike Pence considered skipping Jan. 6 certification to avoid hurting 'friend' Trump

Mike Pence briefly considered skipping the Jan. 6, 2021, congressional certification of President Joe Biden's election win, according to his personal notes.

The former vice president told special counsel Jack Smith's team earlier this year that he was "sure" he informed Donald Trump that he had seen no evidence of widespread election fraud, but sources told ABC News that one of Pence's notes obtained by investigators shows that he nearly decided not to preside over the congressional proceedings.

"Not feeling like I should attend electoral count," Pence wrote in his notes in late December. "Too many questions, too many doubts, too hurtful to my friend. Therefore I'm not going to participate in certification of election."

But his son, an active-duty U.S. Marine, told him during a vacation in Colorado at that time that he was obligated to attend the certification.

"Dad, you took the same oath I took," Pence's son said, adding that it was "an oath to support and defend the Constitution."

Pence insisted to Smith's team that his loyalty to Trump never faltered: "'My only higher loyalty was to God and the Constitution,' sources described Pence as telling them."