U.S. judge dismisses lawmaker lawsuit against Pence over electoral count

By David Shepardson

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Vice President Mike Pence waves to supporters at the end of a rally in Kinston, North Carolina, U.S., October 25, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday rejected a lawsuit from a Republican congressman that sought to allow Vice President Mike Pence to reject Electoral College votes for Joe Biden when Congress meets on Jan. 6 to certify his victory over President Donald Trump.

 

The latest long-shot attempt by Trump's Republican allies to overturn the Nov. 3 election was dismissed by one of Trump's own appointees to the federal bench, Jeremy Kernodle. He ruled that U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas and a slate of Republican electors from Arizona could not show they suffered any personal harm "fairly traceable" to Pence's allegedly unlawful conduct and, therefore, lacked legal standing to bring the case.

 

The standing requirement "helps enforce the limited role of federal courts in our constitutional system. The problem for plaintiffs here is that they lack standing," Kernodle wrote.

 

A spokesman for Trump referred questions to Pence's office. A spokesman for Pence declined to comment.

 

A spokeswoman for Gohmert did not immediately comment.

 

Trump has refused to concede defeat to Democrat Biden and has repeatedly falsely claimed the election was tainted by widespread fraud. He and his allies have lost dozens of court efforts seeking to reverse the election results.

 

Biden beat President Donald Trump by a 306-232 margin in the Electoral College and is set to be sworn in on Jan. 20.

 

Under the Electoral College system, "electoral votes" are allotted to states and the District of Columbia based on their congressional representation.

 

Gohmert's suit argued that Pence had discretion to decide what votes should count. They also asked the judge to bar Pence from following the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which lays out how objections to votes are handled by Congress.

 

Some Republicans have said they plan to object to the count of presidential electors next week in Congress. Reuters reported this week the effort could trigger a lengthy debate in the Senate but has virtually no chance of overturning the results.

 

A Justice Department lawyer representing Pence on Thursday urged Kernodle to dismiss the lawsuit saying they had sued the wrong person as they raised "a host of weighty legal issues about the manner in which the electoral votes for president are to be counted."

 

"The Senate and the House, not the Vice President, have legal interests that are sufficiently adverse to plaintiffs to ground a case or controversy," Pence's filing said.

 

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Christian Schmollinger)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-01-02

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

And yet 120 repub congressman will vote against biden being president.

 

i would like to know why, on what basis?

23 hours ago, Sujo said:

And yet 120 repub congressman will vote against biden being president.

 

i would like to know why, on what basis?

Not True! It's 140 Republican members of congress. 

House Republicans have virtually no chance of flipping the election results for Trump, but 140 of them still plan to vote against certification of the Electoral College count next week

 

140 House Republicans to vote against Electoral College confirmation - Business Insider

4 hours ago, Sujo said:

And yet 120 repub congressman will vote against biden being president.

 

i would like to know why, on what basis?

On the basis that Trump still has enough support to get them primary'd out of their next election, and they are putting their re-election over duty and country.

7 hours ago, Sujo said:

And yet 120 repub congressman will vote against biden being president.

 

i would like to know why, on what basis?

Abject terror of a trump tweet?shamless boot licking?a lack of a spine?job before country?lack of integrity or principles?whatever reason it’s a disgrace.its great this gohmert idiots case was thrown out rember he’s the tody that blamed his inability to master wearing a mask for giving him covid lol what a cast of inept clowns it’s shameful distugsting and a disgrace we deserve better vote thease clowns out!

9 hours ago, Sujo said:

And yet 120 repub congressman will vote against biden being president.

 

i would like to know why, on what basis?

Pandering to Trump's clueless base.  And trying not to <deleted> off Trump so they don't end up on the bad side of his childish Twitter feed.

9 hours ago, placeholder said:

Not True! It's 140 Republican members of congress. 

House Republicans have virtually no chance of flipping the election results for Trump, but 140 of them still plan to vote against certification of the Electoral College count next week

 

140 House Republicans to vote against Electoral College confirmation - Business Insider

I wonder if the Democrats should play this game.  What if some Dems decide to contest electors from certain red states, e.g., Texas, Florida, Ohio.  They would certainly have the votes in the House.  But it's all so silly and stupid.  Thanks for that khun Trump.

Jan 6th is going to be terrible.  The GOP has lost it.  I like the comment from Mitt at the end of this article.  A good read, though very sad.  Sedition at it's worst.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/02/us/politics/gop-senators-josh-hawley-election.html

“I could never have imagined seeing these things in the greatest democracy in the world,” he said in a statement. “Has ambition so eclipsed principle?”

trump lawyer Lin Wood appears to be unhappy with this news? Now we're on to the pompeo-card I guess?

 

Lin Wood
@LLinWood
If Pence is arrested, @SecPompeo will save the election. Pence will be in jail awaiting trial for treason. He will face execution by firing squad. He is a coward & will sing like a bird & confess ALL.
1:02 AM · Jan 2, 2021

 

 

Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood insists he is not insane after tweeting that Mike Pence should face execution by firing squad

 

The attorney dismissed claims of "insanity," telling his followers that he is "fine."

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/pro-trump-lawyer-l-lin-wood-tweets-that-pence-executed-2021-1

12 hours ago, Sujo said:

And yet 120 repub congressman will vote against biden being president.

 

i would like to know why, on what basis?

On the basis that they want to cling to power as long as possible. The Republican party has become the single largest anti-democracy organization. They don't even bother to pretend anymore.

1 hour ago, Jeffr2 said:

Jan 6th is going to be terrible.  The GOP has lost it.  I like the comment from Mitt at the end of this article.  A good read, though very sad.  Sedition at it's worst.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/02/us/politics/gop-senators-josh-hawley-election.html

“I could never have imagined seeing these things in the greatest democracy in the world,” he said in a statement. “Has ambition so eclipsed principle?”

"Greatest democracy in the World"?  Haha...its not even in the top 20 and sliding. The last four years, and the current circus has shown what a mess US governance is. 

16 hours ago, rooster59 said:

A spokesman for Trump referred questions to Pence's office. A spokesman for Pence declined to comment.

A spokeswoman for Gohmert did not immediately comment.

I wanna be a spokesman, I totally can do this job! 

16 hours ago, Sujo said:

 

i would like to know why, on what basis?

Because da boss sez so.

Same reason they say the election was stolen.

Da boss talks, you listen.

And ya don't say nothin'.

 

 

3 hours ago, Roadman said:

"Greatest democracy in the World"?  Haha...its not even in the top 20 and sliding. The last four years, and the current circus has shown what a mess US governance is. 

Mitt lives in Utah.  News takes a while to get there.  I think they still depend on Pony Express.

 

 

Did you all see where the lawyer Lin Wood called for Mike to face the firing squad? You can't make this stuff up. Supporters your such a farce. To those that really want a great laugh watch the movie Death to 2020.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-allies-rounding-lin-wood-144733827.html

Edited January 4, 20215 yr by earlinclaifornia