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- A lawsuit brought by Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas and other Republicans seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election was dismissed by a federal judge on Friday.
- The lawsuit was aimed at giving Pence the power to accept or reject the election results of individual states when Congress meets next week to certify the Electoral College’s results.
- The last resort effort is unlikely to be successful. Pence and the Department of Justice had asked the judge to dismiss the request.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
A lawsuit brought by Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas and other Republicans seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election was dismissed by a federal judge on Friday.
Gohmert has filed a lawsuit against Vice President Mike Pence, trying to have him declare President Donald Trump the winner when Congress meets next week to certify the Electoral College’s results. The lawsuit argued that Pence had the power to choose which state electoral votes to count.
U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle said Gohmert and the others lacked standing, dismissing the lawsuit.
Kernodle, a Trump-appointed judge, said the plaintiffs suffered no legally recognizable harm that could be attributed to Pence, the defendant in the lawsuit. Gohmert’s lawyers said Friday night they would appeal the ruling, The Washington Post reported.
President-elect Joe Biden won the election garnering 306 votes to 232. The results were certified in all states and presidential voters cast their ballots last month.
On January 6, Pence will oversee a joint session of Congress to formally certify the results. The event is usually procedural, confirming the winner that voters and the Electoral College have already chosen.
The lawsuit, which was filed by Gohmert and Arizona’s Trump supporters, was intended to give Pence the option of rejecting individual state results, theoretically giving him the ability to reject the states Biden won and award to Trump a second term, despite the will of the voters. .
The last resort effort is unlikely to be successful. Earlier this week, Pence and the Justice Department said the trial had been misguided and issued a request Thursday asking the judge to dismiss the case.
In response, Gohmert said the vice president was not just “the chief glorified envelope opener” and claimed the lawsuit was rightly directed against Pence.
He also mentioned the 140 House Republicans who reportedly intend to vote against certification of the Electoral College vote in next week’s joint session, although that would not preclude confirmation of Biden’s victory.
Wednesday’s session will likely be controversial because of the anticipated objections. Trump is also encouraging supporters to demonstrate in DC that day, Tweeter about a “BIG protest rally” on January 6th.
The trial was the latest in a series of legal defeats for Trump allies. Since the election, the Trump campaign and some of the president’s supporters have launched dozens of lawsuits, winning zero out of at least 40 lawsuits.
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