Pence Didn’t Back Lawmaker Plan to Overturn Election Results: Lawyers Say

December 30, 2020
by Martin Walsh



Written by Martin Walsh

Attorneys representing Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, and the slate of Republican electors from Arizona indicated in a court filing that Vice President Mike Pence did not agree with their position that Pence could choose between counting the electoral votes of Democrats or Republicans from states where both parties had submitted votes, which would effectively allow him to decide who wins the election, Fox News reported.
A Tuesday court filing said lawyers for Gohmert discussed the issues with the counsel to the vice president to see if the two sides could avoid litigation by being on the same page.
Pence’s team apparently did not view the situation the same way as Gohmert’s side.

“In the teleconference, Plaintiffs’ counsel made a meaningful attempt to resolve the underlying legal issues by agreement, including advising the Vice President’s counsel that Plaintiffs intended to seek immediate injunctive relief in the event the parties did not agree,” the filing said. “Those discussions were not successful in reaching an agreement and this lawsuit was filed.”

From the filing, it is unclear if Pence was specifically asked to count the Republican votes instead of the Democratic ones or if the two sides simply discussed the legal issues surrounding whether he had the authority to do so.
Gohmert cited a local rule that “requires a conference on the merits,” but declined to provide any details.
The lawsuit claims that if more than one party has cast electoral votes, the Constitution allows Pence to decide which party’s votes to count when Congress meets to formally announce the winner of the election Jan. 6, 2021.

Pence Didn't Back Lawmaker Plan to Overturn Election Results: Lawyers Say - Conservative Brief