WATCH: CNN’s Pamela Brown Shuts Down Pence Chief of Staff’s Attempt to Re-Litigate the 2020 Election

CNN’s Pamela Brown deftly shut down attempts by Marc Short, who served as Chief of Staff for former Vice President Mike Pence, to re-litigate the 2020 election, repeatedly pointing out how dozens of courts across the country had rejected former President Donald Trump’s legal challenges.

Pence “had a strong viewpoint as to what his role was” supposed to be on January 6, said Short, for his constitutionally-designated role during the certification of the Electoral College votes.

“And I think unfortunately the president was getting bad advice from people who had articulated that the vice president would have some extraordinary powers that had never been used before in the history of our country…poor legal advice that the president was receiving, that I think led him to believe that there was a different role the vice president could play on that day,” Short said.

In response to a later question from Brown, Short made sure to clarify that he was not blaming Trump for the violent riot that occurred that day. “I said he got bad advice. I did not say he bears responsibility for the riots.”

Short acknowledged the tragedy of the people who were hurt or killed during the riot, and then made a comment about how he thought “people were deprived of the right to hear a debate about the improprieties in the November election.”

“What do you mean by that?” asked Brown. “How were they not able to take part? There were more than 60 cases. It was being talked about openly. And what do you mean?”

Short mentioned one example in Pennsylvania where the courts had extended a deadline to return mail ballots, which Brown dismissed, noting that those ballots that arrived after Election Day were not counted in the final tally, “a Trump-appointed judge slammed down the case, said there was nothing here, no fraud,” and the mail ballot law had been passed by a Republican majority legislature in 2019. “So go ahead,” said Brown.

Short tried again, bringing up a Wisconsin example regarding applications for mail ballots.

“But that litigated,” Brown interjected. “That was litigated. This was litigated by nearly 100 judges, including Trump judges.”

“Yes,” Short acknowledged, but insisted “there is a difference between being litigated and actually having a debate. And the Electoral Count Act allows for Congress to have that debate. And I think that because of the events and the tragedy that happened, earlier in the day a lot of Americans were denied the opportunity to hear that debate.”

Brown brought Short back after the break and noted again the more than 60 courts that had rejected Trump’s legal challenges, and Short replied that they had had concerns about some states, “but we accept Joe Biden is the duly elected President of the United States.”

Watch the video clips above, via CNN.

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