Mike Pence seems to be playing both ends against the middle when it comes to the FBI raid on the home of President Donald Trump.

While Pence said he was “deeply troubled” by the raid and said the Republican Party should hold Attorney General Merrick Garland accountable, he also spoke against criticism of the FBI and said calls to “defund the FBI” by Republicans should stop.

Talk about failure to read the room. That’s part of the problem with Mike Pence. At a time when it is imperative to question the FBI, given all the politicization of the bureau, when members of Congress have whistleblowers flooding in to bend their ears, telling them all the problems, Pence goes for the squishy position that won’t address the problem.

That’s not an attitude that’s going to help him in his quest to run in 2024. He doesn’t have a shot in heck, but he doesn’t seem to get that yet.

But then Pence said something else that’s also not going to help him — that he would consider speaking to the Jan. 6 Committee. That’s also a bad position to take, given most Americans believe the Committee is a biased exercise out to get Trump. Helping the Democrats in their witch hunt is not high on the list of things that will help you in your run for the Republican nomination.

Now, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) — who lost her primary in a wipeout of epic proportions — has just confirmed the Committee is in discussion with Pence’s attorney about him possibly testifying.

BREAKING: Rep. Liz Cheney tells @jonkarl the Jan. 6 Committee is in “discussions" with former Vice Pres. Mike Pence's counsel about testifying. https://t.co/gA2AZboNp3 pic.twitter.com/2Bw1xkLJP1

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 19, 2022

Cheney was also playing both ends against the middle. She said she understood that Pence had concerns about executive privilege. She claimed she believed in the right of executive privilege. But then she was essentially telling him to toss aside those concerns as well as any concern over the encroachment of the legislative branch on the executive because she wants him to testify.

She said that she hoped he would testify and teased that they might ask Trump to testify.

“I would hope that he will understand how important it is for the American people to know every aspect of the truth about what happened that day,” Cheney said when asked if she thought Pence would testify in September.

When asked if former President Donald Trump would be asked to testify in front of the committee, Cheney responded by saying she did not “want to make any announcements about that” and would “just leave it there.”

Pence responded to those comments.

Just a few hours ago Pence told reporters at the IA state fair: “If they submit a formal application for the committee I’ll give it due consideration but we’ll do so reflecting on the unique responsibilities that I have to defend the prerogatives of my office as vice president.” https://t.co/k6kUwWxmea

— Amanda Rooker KCCI (@ARookerKCCI) August 19, 2022

Reading between the lines, it sounds like Pence is holding back at the moment, because of executive privilege. I don’t know what they think he would say anyway that isn’t already public knowledge. It would be wise for him if he took that route out of testifying. If he hasn’t agreed in months, he probably isn’t going to.

At this point, the Committee is out of ammunition and in a desperate search for something to pin on Trump, and to get Americans to care about the Committee. Cheney teases calling Trump, but that’s a risky move for the Committee because Trump wouldn’t hold back in calling them out for their actions if he testified. But that is something they will likely pull out at a later point when they need to pull something out of the hat. That’s about the only thing they have left to get any more attention.