Pence closer than initially known to the violent mob

About one minute after Pence was moved, the Post said, a handful of the rioters made it up the stairs to reach the second floor landing outside the Senate entrance. Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman heroically led the group of rioters in the opposite direction, away from the Senate chambers' entrance.

Pence and his family were in a hideaway "less than 100 feet from that landing," the Post reported, citing three people familiar with his whereabouts.

If the rioters had arrived seconds earlier, they would have been in eyesight of the vice president as he was rushed across a reception hall into the office, the Post suggested, adding that Pence later was moved to a more secure location.

CNN has reached out to the Vice President's office for comment.