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Mike Pence has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought against him by Republican lawmakers who want the vice president of the United States to overturn the results of the November 3 election, in a blow to Donald Trump and his allies who continue to insist. falsely that the survey was rigged.
In a 14-page filing on behalf of the vice president, attorneys for the Justice Department on Thursday called the lawsuit a “walking legal contradiction” and argued that Pence was not the right person to sue in the matter. The federal judge overseeing the case has not yet set a date for the hearing.
The lawsuit filed by Louie Gohmert, a United States Republican Representative from Texas, and several Arizona Republicans seeks to remove rules on how Congress certifies presidential elections, in an effort to give Pence the ability to dismiss the results next week. .
Voters gathered in state capitals and the District of Columbia in December to formally select Joe Biden as president-elect of the United States, and his ballots will be counted and certified by both houses of Congress on Wednesday.
The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives filed an amicus brief Thursday also calling for the lawsuit to be dismissed. “Gohmert’s lawsuit has no legal merit and is another sabotage of our democracy,” said Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Speaker of the House.
Attorneys for Gohmert and the 11 Arizona Republicans filed a new response on Friday, rejecting such arguments in an attempt to pressure the court to hear their case.
They claimed that Congress was “ready for a showdown” on Wednesday, and said more than 140 House members pledged to object to Biden’s victory.
‘Wrongful accused’
The attorneys further argued that Pence could conduct Wednesday’s joint session of Congress “as he sees fit,” rejecting what they said was a legal interpretation that placed the vice president in a purely ceremonial role as a “glorified chief envelope opener.” .
The vice president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday, but Pence’s previous legal response had stated that he was the “wrong defendant” in the case.
On Friday, Trump retweeted a message from the pro-Trump group Stop the Steal, which is planning a rally in Washington on Wednesday to protest the election results.
“The Calvary [sic] come, mr president! “Kylie Jane Kremer, the group’s founder, tweeted, promising a” big protest. “
Josh Hawley, a Republican senator from Missouri, has already said that he would oppose Wednesday’s Electoral College certification process. Hawley’s objection will lead to a vote in both houses of Congress on acceptance of the results.
Hawley said in a statement that he was acting to raise “the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, did not follow their own state election laws” and to underscore the “unprecedented effort by mega-corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this choice “.
An explanation is sought
US media reported that Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, who has deterred senators from opposing the Electoral College certification process, asked Hawley to explain his rationale in a conference call with Republican senators on Thursday, but Missourian was not on the call.
Many in Washington see Hawley’s support for Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud as an effort to win favor with the president’s right-wing base of supporters for a possible 2024 presidential bid.
Ben Sasse, a Republican senator from Nebraska, criticized those efforts to overturn the election result, saying late Wednesday: “The president and his allies are playing with fire.”
While Mr. Sasse did not name Mr. Hawley, he referred to “inflammatory members of Congress who will oppose the Electoral College vote.” He added: “Let’s be clear what’s going on here: we have a group of ambitious politicians who think there is a quick way to tap into the president’s populist base without causing any real long-term damage. – Copyright by The Financial Times Limited 2021
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