A group of Trump’s Republican supporters, including a Texas congressman, opened a new case in a final attempt to reverse the election results, arguing that Vice President Mike Pence must decide which Electoral College votes to count when Congress meets on January 6 to accept the election results.
The lawsuit, led by Texas deputy Louie Gohmert, specifically seeks to have Pence reject votes from the Electoral College of Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, who voted for President-elect Joe Biden in an attempt to give Trump a second despite his loss on November 3.
The suit alleges, without evidence, that such action is necessary due to “substantial evidence of electoral fraud and other illegal conduct”. Several Republican lawmakers have said they plan to challenge electoral votes – forcing Congress to fight a heated political battle over election results.
Trump, who is vacationing at his resort in Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida, refused to grant the election because his legal team and Republican Party members have spent weeks since the election mounting unsuccessful attempts to overturn the result , including dozens of failed legal challenges based on unfounded charges of fraud. Trump has tweeted numerous times that he believes he is the legitimate winner of the election.
The last lawsuit was filed against Pence, who supported legal challenges to the election result, as an officer because he will chair the Senate and receive votes from Congress.
Pence is on vacation in Colorado this week and has not responded publicly to the lawsuit. A spokesman for the vice president declined to comment when contacted by Newsweek on Monday.
Gohmert, a lawyer and former judge, is known for taking controversial and conspiratorial positions in the past, particularly about former President Barack Obama and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Others who joined Gohmert in his lawsuit include Arizona’s list of Republican voters, including Republican Party state president Kelli Ward and Tyler Bowyer, a leader of the Students for Trump movement.
Biden, who received 306 votes from the Electoral College against 232 from Trump, is working on his transition and making plans for a reduced inaugural ceremony on January 20 because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The Gohmert-led lawsuit is scheduled to be initiated by Trump-appointed judge Jeremy Kernodle in Texas. The plaintiffs are seeking an accelerated review, although it is unclear when the court will be able to start the case.
“According to the Twelfth Amendment, Defendant Pence alone has exclusive authority and exclusive discretion to open and allow counting of electoral votes for a given state, and where there are competing voter lists, or where there is an objection to any voter list. , to determine which votes will be counted, or if none ”, claims the action.
Elijah Nouvelage / Getty