Lawsuit Arguing Pence Can Choose Trump Electors Tossed Out By Judge : NPR
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
January 1, 20215:41 PM ET
Matthew S. Schwartz
Updated at 9:11 p.m. ET
A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit that challenges President-elect Joe Biden's victory, as Congress moves toward finalizing the results of the 2020 election.
The January certification of states' electoral votes, overseen by the vice president, is usually considered a formality. But a lawsuit filed last week by Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, seeks to upend the process.
In some key battleground states, groups of Republicans have baselessly declared themselves to be "alternate electors," claiming to represent the true wishes of the voters. Gohmert and the other plaintiffs — including a group of self-proclaimed electors from Arizona — argue that when confronted with competing slates of electors, the Constitution gives Vice President Mike Pence the power to choose which electors to certify.
The legal challenge, which reflected the longstanding refusal of certain Republicans to acknowledge Biden's victory, was widely seen as a long shot. Now, Judge Jeremy Kernodle in Texas has ruled that the plaintiffs don't have standing to sue. He says they haven't met the requirement that they show they've been injured by the defendant and that the relief they ask for would redress that injury.
Politics
Congress' Role In Election Results: Here's What Happens Jan. 6
In their suit, which names the vice president as the defendant, the Republican plaintiffs argue that a 19th century law spelling out how Congress should handle the count is unconstitutional, because it directs Pence to tally the electoral votes as they've been reported by the states.
These Republicans argue that the 12th Amendment gives Pence, not the states, sole discretion to determine which among competing slates of electors may be counted.
Gohmert "alleges at most an institutional injury to the House of Representatives," the judge wrote. The other plaintiffs — the wannabe Arizona electors — "allege an injury that is not fairly traceable to" Pence.
In a court filing, Pence himself told the judge that he was the wrong person to sue. The Republicans' beef isn't with the vice president, he said, but with Congress.
"Plaintiffs object to the Senate and the House of Representatives asserting a role for themselves in determining which electoral votes may be counted — a role that these plaintiffs assert is constitutionally vested in the Vice President," Pence's attorneys wrote Thursday. "Indeed, as a matter of logic, it is those bodies against whom plaintiffs' requested relief must run."
House lawyers also asked for the suit to be dismissed, calling it a "radical departure from our constitutional procedures," and saying the proposed remedy would "authorize the Vice President to ignore the will of the Nation's voters."
Gohmert's crew pushed back Friday, criticizing the vice president for hiding behind procedural arguments, instead of dealing with the meat of the issue. Pence can conduct the Jan. 6 proceeding as he pleases, they argue, ignoring electors if he sees fit; he's not simply a "glorified envelope-opener in chief," they wrote.
Election law experts reject this position. "The Gohmert reply is breathtaking & preposterous," Ned Foley, director of the election law program at the Ohio State University, said on Twitter. "The Constitution never intended this monarchical power to disenfranchise Electoral College votes based on personal whim."
Gohmert wrote that because of "convincing evidence of voter fraud," he and 140 Republicans in the House plan to object to the counting of electors that states certified for President-elect Biden. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has also said he will object.
But the objections are virtually guaranteed to fail, since they require a majority in both chambers.
Every court to examine the issue has found there was no compelling evidence of fraud in the presidential election.
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The judge, BTW, was nominated to his position by Trump.
IIRC, there have been over 50 lawsuits filed by Trump and his sycophants-- trying to overturn the will of the voters.
All but one was thrown out by judges (many appointed by Trump).
The one that they won was not an import one-- its was about some minor legal detail (it in no way effected the outcome of the election)
Something like that. I've sort of lost count. They really seem to have no reservations about making themselves laughingstocks.
I read a few days back Trump et al have lost 59 of 60 not counting this one and I belive there was another thrown out a few days ago.
I believe that they just filed another case with SCOTUS.
Yep, A Republcan star, the wife knows him well.
Trump thinks his dogs wear his collars. He is quickly finding out differently.
What do we do about all of these congressional republicans that are aiding in sedition?
What I'd like is to see them prosecuted or at least censured. But what we'll probably do is nothing. Some might lose their seats in their next elections. Most won't.
Try em and fry em.
Gohmert is one of the stupidest people in Congress. (I was going to say the # 1 stupidest
-- but in all fairness he has a lot of competition for that title! 
)
It's way past time to have Trump and his gang of dufuses committed.
Gohmert has secured his title of the dumbest man in congress.
Trump has just tweeted out that the Senate run-off in Georiga is illegal and invalid. Trump tweets attack the second-ranking in the Senate, John Thune and Lindsey attack McConnell..
He would be hilarious if it wasn't so frickin' sad for the US. Talk about a banana republic.
You simply cannot make this shit up.
Ah-- the "Law of Unintended Consequences"!
Trump has been ranting and raving about how the presidential election is invalid, tampered with, etc. Now he's saying similar things about the Georgia run-off.
But in that case it may have consequences that Trump won't like. Because, due to Trump's outbursts, some Georgia Republican voters now feel elections are all crooked anyway, and their vote won't count-- so they will just stay home on Election day (This Tuesday, 1/5).
Let them stay home then. When the dems take the seats, they will have no one blame but themselves.
Pence didn't want it anyway.
He just wants to get the hell out of Dodge. I suggest anywhere there is year long snow. That way he will blend in.
Pence had lawyers opposing this lawsuit. I thought that was interesting.
Gohmert is an idiot. He has a law degree. An idiot with a law degree. His lawsuit was beyond ridiculous.
Nikki Haley is all in now for 2024...... now that all her credibility is gone.
This is quite fitting.
Do these dolts not even understand political suicide?
The scary thing is, what they're doing should be political suicide, but I am not at all confident that it will have much of a negative effect on their future campaigns.
Gohmert is in a safe seat. Otherwise, he wouldn't have pursued this lunacy. He has said plenty of really stupid things before, but he has been re-elected several times. What does that say about his constituents?
That's what I'm getting at. I expect he'll be elected again, if he runs.
Yes, we are basically saying the same thing. I was writing my comment and didn't see yours until after I clicked on Post Your Comment.
His seat may be safe but this is bad for the R party. What are they thinking?
They're checking polls. Quite a few Republicans still think Trump won. Gohmert isn't worried about what Dems think. He only has to worry about what Republicans think.
Stupidity.
Agreed.
Sandy has it right.