Gohmert Leading GOP Effort to Sue Pence Over Electoral College Votes
A group of Republicans including Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas and Kelli Ward of Arizona is suing Vice President Mike Pence in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Electoral College is scheduled to certify the win on Jan. 6, a task that’s always overseen by the sitting vice president—in this case, Pence, who has not yet publicly acknowledged the fact that Trump lost his bid for a second term. In the lawsuit, Gohmert, Ward, and 10 other plaintiffs incuding Students for Trump COO Tyler Bowyer, Arizona Republican Party Executive Director Greg Safsten, and Maricopa County Republicans Second Vice Chair Nancy Cottle, are asking federal Judge Jeremy Kernodle, a Trump appointee, to declare Pence legally authorized to pick pro-Trump electors on Jan. 6.
Since Trump lost his November bid for a second term in the White House, certain members of the GOP have continued to stoke his delusion of having won by floating unlikely and entirely unsuccessful court challenges to President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Last week Trump retweeted a supporter who called on Pence to refuse to certify Biden’s win on Jan. 6. Trump has also reportedly complained that Pence has not done enough in the fight to overturn their electoral defeat,
⚖️NEW: VP Pence has been sued by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.), Kelli Ward and other GOP mbrs in a far-fetched bid to overturn Biden's win
Plaintiffs ask Judge Jeremy Kernodle, a Trump-appt'd fed judge in Texas, to find that Pence is authorized to pick pro-Trump electors on Jan. 6 pic.twitter.com/BumNwLm5ss
— John Kruzel (@johnkruzel) December 28, 2020
Election law experts were dismissive of the lawsuit’s prospects for success, and it’s expected this lawsuit will be thrown out, just as every other attempt to overturn the election has been dismissed nearly 60 times in courts all over the country.
I've decided to represent Mike Pence in the Gohmert vs Pence trial. I have zero experience as an attorney, but as we all know from the last 4 years, Pence puts full and complete trust in people with zero experience in their jobs. Plus, I'm doing it pro bono, as I am a big U2 fan.
— Jeremy Newberger (@jeremynewberger) December 28, 2020
“The idea that the Vice President has sole authority to determine whether or not to count electoral votes submitted by a state, or which of competing submissions to count, is inconsistent with a proper understanding of the Constitution,” said Edward Foley, a law professor at the Ohio State University.
Meanwhile, other Republicans have urged Trump and his sycophants to gracefully accept defeat. On Monday, Rep. Denver Riggleman of Virginia retweeted news of the lawsuit against Pence with an exasperated, “This is NUTS.”
This is NUTS https://t.co/hX2zrFKQT6
— Congressman Denver Riggleman (@RepRiggleman) December 28, 2020
The Electoral College votes are expected to be certified by Congress on January 6th, one day after the crucial Georgia Senate runoff elections take place.