Must read: A lot of significant new information in this ABC story . One of the most significant is that Pence, and presumably many others around him, fully understood that that there would be a shift in the vote toward Biden as mail-in ballots were counted:

Sources said Pence acknowledged to Smith’s team that even before Election Day on Nov. 3, 2020, he was aware that the Trump-Pence ticket was expected to take a big early lead in the polls that would then gradually fade as more mail-in ballots were counted.

Also this, which I don’t believe has been revealed before, in late December 2020:

As Pence described it to investigators, according to sources, he understood by late December 2020 that the Trump campaign had run out of legal options in its fight to remain in power — but he urged lawmakers to raise potentially credible allegations of fraud during the upcoming proceedings on Jan. 6, 2021, when Pence would be presiding over Congress to certify the election results and decide whether to reject any votes.

In a meeting at the White House in late December 2020, as many as 20 House Republicans erupted in applause after Pence told them to “get your evidence together” and assured them “we [will] get our day in Congress,” with an opportunity for all of the evidence to be heard before the election would be certified, sources said he told Smith’s team.

Pence told investigators he was then still “very open to the possibility that there was voter fraud” in the election, and he was focused on following the facts and the law, according to the sources.