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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 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 brought by Louie Gohmert, a Republican representative of the United States from Texas, and several Republicans from Arizona seeks to remove the rules on how Congress certifies presidential elections, in an effort to give Pence the ability to dismiss the results.
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 of next week.
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives filed an amicus brief Thursday 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.
The introductions came a day after Josh Hawley, a Republican senator from Missouri, said he would oppose the Electoral College certification process. Hawley’s objection will lead to a vote in both houses of Congress on whether to accept 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 “.
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 and later emailed her colleagues.
Hawley, 41, is widely viewed as a possible presidential candidate in 2024. Many in Washington view his support for Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud as an effort to win favor with the president’s right-wing base of supporters.
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.
“This problem is bigger than anyone’s personal ambitions,” Sasse said. “Adults do not point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government.”
