The Department of Justice on Thursday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit to put Vice President Mike Pence under pressure to block the outcome of the election, against President Trump’s allies in Congress, who refused to accept President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. ‘s victory.
The department, which on behalf of Mr. Pence is acting, saying Republican lawmakers, led by Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas, cannot invalidate the more than century-old law that governs the process of the Electoral College expanding an otherwise ceremonial role. the power to vote in elections for Mr. Praying has been brought out, to be rejected.
In a last-ditch effort to undermine the outcome of the election, Mr. Gohmert on Sunday along with other Republicans in Congress and voters in Arizona filed a case against Mr. Pence filed in an attempt to force him to accept this extended role. . As president of the Senate, Mr. Pence has the constitutional responsibility to open envelopes sent from all 50 countries and announce their election results when Congress convenes next week to confirm the count. But to change his role, Mr. Trump enables him to pressure his vice president to invalidate the results.
The Department of Justice also made clear in its documentation that it welcomed any remarks made by the federal judge in the case, Jeremy D. Kernodle of the Eastern District of Texas, which would explain that Mr. Pence’s role in the election was purely procedural.
White House Advocate Pat A. Cipollone and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows were aware that the Justice Department on behalf of Mr. Pence filed before it happened, according to two people who were briefed on the discussions.
If a judge were to make it clear that Mr. Pence does not have the power to reject votes or decide the results, it could ease the pressure on him. Since the election in November, Mr. Trump separately focused on the proceedings of the Electoral College. He cut short his vacation at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to return to Washington early, at least in part, to push Republican lawmakers to reject the results when they meet on Jan. 6 to count the votes.
Would Judge Kernodle confirm that Mr. Pence has no influence on the votes of the Electoral College, Mr. Gohmert’s lawsuit has the opposite of the intended effect.
In its reply, the department also stated that Gohmert did not have the right to sue Pence over the performance of the duties as defined by law; rather, he and the other plaintiffs must sue Congress, which passed the original law.
The move of the Department of Justice to an 11th hour attempt to win the victory of Mr. Praying to undo it can be more contrary to mr. Trump instead.
The president was furious because former Attorney General William P. Barr refused to bolster Trump’s false allegations of widespread voter fraud and rather the victory of Mr. Pray confirmed.
The relationship of mr. Trump with Mr. Barr, who he once saw as the biggest ally in his cabinet, weakened further after the president learned that he was investigating the tax issues of Mr. Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, supervised. during the election. Although it is the policy of the department not to discuss investigations that could affect the outcome of an election, Mr. Trump fired his attorney general of disloyalty for failing to disclose the case during the campaign.
And during his last news conference, Barr said he saw no reason to hire a special lawyer to oversee a tax investigation into the younger Mr. Pray or to dig up unfounded allegations that Trump lost as a result of widespread voter fraud.
Some in the department believed that Barr’s statements Jeffrey A. Rosen, the acting attorney general, might have helped. Mr. Rosen is likely to come under tremendous pressure from the president to appoint additional special advisers and use the other powers of the department to help him secure the victory of Mr. Pray to undo.
But now the department under Mr. Rosen took a step that Mr. Trump can see it as an open act intended to thwart one of his allies and allow for retaliation.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
Michael S. Schmidt contribution made.