As controversy swirls around the White House calls for impeachment grow louder, it’s instructive to keep in mind that should Donald Trump be removed from office, Mike Pence would become head of state. However, it appears that Pence is just as deeply enmeshed in the Russia matter as Trump.

On MSNBC Tuesday evening, Joy Reid made the case against Pence, and it could easily serve as a guide for anyone who might be eager to try and exonerate Pence just because he pretends to be such an upstanding Christian gentleman.

Reid began by noting that Trump clearly intended to talk to former FBI Director Comey in private for one reason: So he could tell him to call off the investigation into disgraced National Security Adviser Michael Flynn:

“There is a consciousness of guilt here. It’s not that he doesn’t understand. Not only does he ask Jeff Sessions, the head of the Department of Justice to leave, he asks him twice.”

Next, Reid explained that even Sessions knew it was improper for Trump to ask him to leave the Oval Office while the illegitimate president made his pitch to Comey. That’s where Pence comes into play:

“Even Jeff Sessions understood that. Trump insists that he leave the room, twice, two requests and he also ushers Mike Pence out of the room. And by the way, I think that Sessions and Pence are not out of the woods either. Russiagate is going to ensnare everyone who touches it. Mike Pence has a very implausible story as well, which is that he knew absolutely nothing about anything ever, including when Sally Yates comes in and informs the transition team, of which he’s the head! He’s the head of the transition team! The idea that he was completely and wholly ignorant makes him also unfit to succeed Donald Trump even if Congress did have a mind to impeach him.”

Exactly! Pence approved Flynn to serve as National Security Adviser even though there were questions about Flynn having taken money from both Russia and Turkey. If Pence didn’t know, then he’s just as incompetent as Trump. If, on other hand, Pence did know, then he’s part of the larger conspiracy.

Bottom line: Both Trump and Pence deserve to be impeached. And judging by the way Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insist on defending Trump, it might be time to do an investigation them him, too. At the moment, nearly every Republican in Washington who helped elect or enable Donald Trump is suspect.

This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org