WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Friday rejected a lawsuit by President Trump’s allies in Congress aimed at pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to block the election result, and the lawmakers’ last attempt to to challenge the elected president, Joseph R. Biden Jr. ‘s victory.
Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle of the Eastern District of Texas ruled that Republican lawmakers, led by Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, did not have the right status to sue Mr. Pence in the case to sue. The lawsuit challenged the more than century-old law governing the process of the Electoral College in an attempt to extend an otherwise ceremonial role to one with the power to vote for Mr. Praying has been brought out, to be rejected.
As the presiding officer of the Senate, Mr. Pence the responsibility to open envelopes sent from each state and announce their election results when Congress convenes on January 6 to mark the victory of Mr. Pray to confirm. Mr. Gohmert, along with his colleagues and voters in Arizona, hoped that the lawsuit, which was filed Sunday, could force Pence to accept an expanded role and open the vice president to pressure to invalidate the election results.
But Judge Kernodle, who was appointed by Mr. Trump was appointed, the hope was dashed Friday, although Mr. Gohmert said in an interview with Newsmax that his lawyers will appeal. His decision comes a day after the Justice Department asked him to dismiss the case. The department also argued that Mr. Gohmert did not have the right to sue Pence over the performance of the duties as defined by law, but insisted that he should sue Congress, which passed the original law.
The president was unhappy when he heard that the Department of Justice Mr. Pence represented in a lawsuit filed by his supporters, and he reached out to the vice president Friday morning to discuss it, three people said about the discussion.
In their conversation, Trump expressed surprise at the development, although the Department of Justice followed the correct procedure because Mr. Pence was summoned in his official capacity, according to one of the people informed about the discussion. Mr. Trump was more outspoken for advisers than for Pence over his frustrations over the Justice Department’s involvement.
Mr. Trump’s allies in Congress make a doomed attempt to undermine the outcome of the election by objecting to the certification of the election results of the key states when Congress convenes to certify it, the last procedural step to the victory of Mr. . Pray to confirm. Their effort, led by Mr. Gohmert in the House and Josh Hawley of Missouri in the Senate, will force each chamber to debate the objections for up to two hours, followed by a vote on Mr. Biden’s victory.
With a majority of Republicans in the Senate expected to ratify the election, and with the House controlled by Democrats, the intent is to fail. But the process could eventually put Pence in the anxious position of declaring that Trump lost the election.
Although Republicans in the Senate faced the opportunity largely with restraint – and even open contempt – lawmakers flocked to the House to support the effort. In the letter that Mr. Gohmert initially filed in federal court, he indicated that more than 140 House Republics intended to object to the victory of Mr.
Mr. Trump has falsely claimed that Mr. Biden won the election unfairly because of widespread voter fraud, and demanded that Republicans of Congress work to reverse the results.
But there was no evidence of widespread misconduct, and former Attorney General William P. Barr acknowledged that the Department of Justice had not discovered such fraud that would change the outcome.
The Supreme Court and courts in at least eight critical states across the country have also rejected or rejected the challenges posed by the Trump campaign in an attempt to throw away the outcome of the election. Those challenges do not come close to overthrowing the results in a single state.