WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives asked a federal judge in Texas on Thursday to dismiss a Republican lawmaker’s lawsuit to give Vice President Mike Pence the power to decide which ballots to count when Congress convenes Jan. 6. meet to finalize the presidential election in November.
The House made the request after Mr. Pence himself against the plaintiffs – Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas and several Republicans in Arizona, who successfully elected presidential election, said in a statement from the Department of Justice that the case was a “legal inconsistency.” Mr. Gohmert the mr. Pence was named the sole defendant, who according to the Department of Justice “ironically is the person whose power they want to advance.”
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According to a court case, Gohmert’s lawyers attempted to reach an agreement with Mr. To reach Pence over the lawsuit, but the discussions were unsuccessful.
U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, left, and Vice President Mike Pence.
Gohmert’s lawsuit disputes the procedures that will govern for the counting of Congress next week, which precedes the election of Pres. Joe Biden will score. Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that the 1887 Election Act, which assigns the vice president a ceremonial role in announcing the election results, defines his power under the 12th Amendment.
The twelfth amendment states that “the President of the Senate in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives will open all the certificates and the votes will then be counted.”
“Under the 12th Amendment, accused Pence alone has the sole authority and sole discretion to open and permit the voting for a given state, and where there are competing voters, or where there is any objection to any single line of voters, to determine which voters’ votes, or not, will be counted, ” Mr Gohmert said.
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“The amendment using the active vote and the mention of the Vice-President in the first clause – ‘The President of the Senate shall … open all the certificates’ – as opposed to the use of the passive vote and the omission of the Vice-President from the second clause – ‘then the votes must be counted’ – shows that the amendment gives the Vice-President the task of opening the certificates and leaving the counting of the votes to others, “he said. Douglas Letter, House Council, written in his reply.
The Department of Justice, although it avoided an opinion on the 12th Amendment, suggested that Mr. Gohmert may rather sue Congress, as the 1887 Act commands the legislature with the powers they confer on Mr. Pence wants to transfer.
The department is acting on behalf of Mr. Pence on because he was sued in his official capacity.
This story continues in The Wall Street Journal.
Siobhan Hughes and Deanna Paul contributed to this article.