GOP Lawmaker Louie Gohmert Sues Vice President Pence to Give Him ‘Exclusive Authority’ to Overturn Election Results

Epoch Times ^ | 12/28/2020 | Jack Phillips

[SeekAndFind]

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) filed a lawsuit against Vice President Mike Pence in a bid to overturn the election results, asking a court to give Pence “exclusive authority” to decide which Electoral College votes should be counted on Jan. 6.

According to the lawsuit (pdf), Pence has a role in the upcoming Jan. 6 Joint Session of Congress to count all 50 states’ Electoral College votes. Gohmert’s lawsuit, which was filed against Pence in his capacity as vice president, is asking a federal judge to strike down the 1887 Electoral Count Act and to grant Pence the authority to overturn the election results in favor of President Donald Trump.

Gohmert’s lawsuit is claiming that any action taken by Pence on Jan. 6 to certify the Electoral College results to secure a win for Joe Biden will be fraudulent. Gohmert is also asking Judge Jeremy Kernodle, an appointee of Trump, to determine that Pence is authorized to pick GOP electors who cast votes for Trump during the Joint Session of Congress.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House and Pence’s office for comment.

“Vice-President Pence determines which slate of electors’ votes count, or neither, for that State,” states the lawsuit. “If no candidate has a majority of 270 elector votes, then the House of Representatives (and only the House of Representatives) shall choose the President,” Gohmert’s suit says, adding that the Constitution’s 12th Amendment “contains the exclusive dispute resolution mechanisms” over elections.

The court should render a judgment on whether “Vice President Pence, in his capacity as President of Senate and Presiding Officer of the January 6, 2021 Joint Session of Congress under the Twelfth Amendment, is subject solely to the requirements of the Twelfth Amendment and may exercise the exclusive authority and sole discretion in determining which electoral votes to count for a given State, and must ignore and may not rely on any provisions of the Electoral Count Act that would limit his exclusive authority and his sole discretion to determine the count, which could include votes from the slates of Republican electors from the Contested States,” Gohmert’s lawsuit says.

Gohmert noted that GOP-selected electors in several key states being contested by Trump have cast votes for Trump and Pence. The Republican parties in the states said they did so to preserve lawsuit options for the president. Electors that were certified by the key states’ executive branches cast votes during the Dec. 14 Electoral College vote, giving Joe Biden 306 votes to Trump’s 232 votes.

Meanwhile, Gohmert said in the suit that he is joining a GOP-led effort to challenge the Electoral College vote-count efforts on Jan. 6. The bid, which is being led by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), has dozens of supporters in the House, Brooks told Fox News on Monday morning.

Trump has supported the effort led by Brooks and the other Republican lawmakers to challenge the counting. But so far, it’s not clear if any senators have joined, which is needed to carry out the challenge of the electoral votes.

Gohmert filed the suit in the Eastern District of Texas. Tyler Bowyer, Nancy Cottle, Jake Hoffman, Anthony Kern, James R. Lamon, Sam Moorhead, Robert Montgomery, Lorain Pellegrino, Greg Safsten, Kelli Ward, and Michael Ward also joined the lawsuit.

The case is Gohmert v. Pence, and the case number is 6:20-cv-00660.

[Mr. K]

This reminds me of a similar tactic used by Democrats which is “repeal to a third position”.

Using gay marriage as an example...

Gay marriage was not allowed because marriage licenses could only be issued to a man and a woman, and they knew the voters would never in a million years pass a law saying gays could get married.

So they pass a law saying gay marriage is illegal, but they word it so badly that a friendly liberal judge tosses it out as unconstitutional, and so they “repeal” it.

It used to be that when you ‘repealed’ something you went back to the way things used to be, but they went to a new (third) position... Since gay marriage could not be made illegal, it must be legal.

When liberals want something that they know voters would never approve, they ban it- then go to court to get the ban ‘repealed’.

That’s how you make new law by judicial fiat.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: If Pence screws Trump over, things will get bad very fast.

So, what do you think Pence should do as per our constitution, so that he isn’t seen as screwing Trump over?

[itsahoot]

As another user pointed out in another discussion earlier, the VP’s role in the vote tally is really no different than Vanna’s when she turns the letter tiles.

Tradition should not replace black letter constitutional law any more than lower court decisions should affect rights granted by the Bill of rights but they do on a regular basis.

Rights like borders belong to those that can defend them.

[doug from upland]

I believe if House and Senate disagree, the electoral slate certified during safe harbor period is the one that prevails.

[Hyman Roth]

Bombshell Boom Kracken !!!!!!!!/s

[baclava]

Not only that, Pence has nothing but a ceremonial role, he has no power to pick what votes to count, he’s a Vanna White, he just opens the envelopes, handing the sealed certificates submitted by each state to tellers appointed from among the House and Senate members to read.

[rcofdayton]

I hope you are wrong but I suspect you are correct.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: As another user pointed out in another discussion earlier, the VP’s role in the vote tally is really no different than Vanna’s when she turns the letter.

Let’s probe this analogy a little further... suppose a contestant shouts out the wrong letter, should Vanna turn the correct letter even if she knew that it was the wrong call? If she did, what would that make of the game?

When a few years ago, Miss Universe host Steve Harvey wrongly called Miss Venezuela the winner instead of Miss Philippines, should he not have corrected his mistake as Miss Venezuela was being wrongly crowned?

[mrmeyer]

I have no confidence in them to do the right thing

[Tall Wall Texan]

Louis Gohmert has a law degree from Baylor, was a JAG defense attorney and served as a judge before he became a congressman. His undergraduate degree was in History from Texas A&M. Louis has an East Texas accent and speaks in a folksy manner, but his knowledge of law or United States history shouldn’t be discounted or dismissed. He is a very intelligent and principled man.

[NELSON111]

But - according to multiple posts here - he already HAS this authority.

hmmmmmmmmmm

[higgmeister]

The Congressman is saying that the 1887 Electoral Count Act was Unconstitutional because the process required a Constitutional Amendment to change The Constitution or a previous Constitutional Amendment.   That makes sense to me.

[Dawgreg]

Louis Gohmert has a law degree from Baylor, was a JAG defense attorney and served as a judge before he became a congressman. His undergraduate degree was in History from Texas A&M. Louis has an East Texas accent and speaks in a folksy manner, but his knowledge of law or United States history shouldn’t be discounted or dismissed. He is a very intelligent and principled man.

He sure is. I wish he were my representative.....

[Dawgreg]

Louis Gohmert has a law degree from Baylor, was a JAG defense attorney and served as a judge before he became a congressman. His undergraduate degree was in History from Texas A&M. Louis has an East Texas accent and speaks in a folksy manner, but his knowledge of law or United States history shouldn’t be discounted or dismissed. He is a very intelligent and principled man.

He sure is. I wish he were my representative.....

[Robert DeLong]

Just look at how many Republicans overrode the NDAA veto. They are all worthless.

[erkelly]

Vice President Thomas Jefferson and Vice President Richard Nixon would tell you differently. There may be other VPs as well, we need to do some research. In any case, there are at least two precedents, once at the beginning of our republic and once in modern times.

[MayflowerMadam]

“he just opens the envelopes, handing the sealed certificates submitted by each state to tellers”

Some states will have two envelopes, right? One from the RAT/RINO electors, and one from the Trump electors?

[Robert DeLong]

Hey, you really have to listen to this. Very interesting and informative:

Make Their Move

Youtube video, but really just audio, no video. You won't be sorry you invested in this 16 minute audio

[erkelly]

I think we can safely wait until 1/6 before taking that final terrible step. If Pence is wise, he will throw out the bad votes, and give the president and himself 4 more years to reform the electoral process. Once we have honest elections, republicans will have a fair chance at winning elections, democrats will lose fairly and, I suspect, we will see the end of the likes of Mitch McConnell. I think that if enough people show up in DC on the 6th, that will have a powerful impact and may give Mr. Pence the backbone to stand up to the MSM, to do what is right and stop Civil War II. The communist left is going to act up, of course, but I think the US Military can handle it.

[erkelly]

I think we can safely wait until 1/6 before taking that final terrible step. If Pence is wise, he will throw out the bad votes, and give the president and himself 4 more years to reform the electoral process. Once we have honest elections, republicans will have a fair chance at winning elections, democrats will lose fairly and, I suspect, we will see the end of the likes of Mitch McConnell. I think that if enough people show up in DC on the 6th, that will have a powerful impact and may give Mr. Pence the backbone to stand up to the MSM, to do what is right and stop Civil War II. The communist left is going to act up, of course, but I think the US Military can handle it.