- Jay Sekulow, President Donald Trump’s impeachment lawyer and self-defense lawyer, said that Trump’s insistence that Vice President Mike Pence reject election results from several states is unconstitutional.
- “Some speculated that the vice president could simply say, ‘I will not accept these voters’, that he has the authority to do so under the constitution. In fact, I don’t think that’s what the Constitution has in mind, “Sekulow said in an interview.
- “If that were the case, any vice president could refuse any election,” he added. “It is more of a function of ministerial procedure.”
- Sekulow is one of Trump’s most loyal supporters and is the last high-profile conservative figure to speak out against the president’s impossible crusade to undo Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 elections.
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President Donald Trump’s impeachment attorney and self-defense attorney Jay Sekulow said this week that Trump’s insistence that Vice President Mike Pence has the power to reject state voters is not constitutional.
“Some speculated that the vice president could simply say, ‘I will not accept these voters’, who has the authority to do so in accordance with the constitution. In fact, I don’t think that’s what the Constitution has in mind, “Sekulow said during his concert on Tuesday.
“If that were the case, any vice president could refuse any election,” he added. “It is more of a ministerial and procedural role.”
Trump has repeatedly stated that, as president of the Senate, Pence can legally refuse to recognize voters from various battle states who have certified their 2020 election results for President-elect Joe Biden. Several Republicans in Congress have joined the Trump effort and said they plan to challenge Congress’ certification of electoral votes on January 6.
“The vice president has the power to reject fraudulently chosen voters,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday.
But, as Sekulow and the vast majority of legal, constitutional and electoral experts have pointed out, Pence lacks that authority.
Instead, the vice president plays a ceremonial role in certifying electoral votes. He also has no unilateral authority to annul the election during Congressional certification on January 6.
According to the Constitution, Congress finalizes the certification of electoral votes before Induction Day. At that time, parliamentarians had a legal way to oppose the certification of state results. To oppose the electoral votes of a specific state, at least one legislator from each chamber must sign. Each chamber then debates the objection separately for two hours before taking a vote on the matter. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate must vote to reject a state’s electoral votes to annul them.
Although Republican congressmen in both chambers plan to oppose certification in certain states on Wednesday, it will delay, but not change the bottom line, because there is virtually no chance that the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives will vote to reject votes battleground states that Republicans plan to challenge.
As far as Pence is concerned, the 12th Amendment stipulates that the President of the Senate – the Vice President of the United States – “open all certificates and votes will then be counted” during a joint session of Congress.
“This theory that Mike Pence himself can simply declare the winner … I just don’t see that in the US Constitution,” said Sekulow on Tuesday. “Ultimately, we have to comply with the Constitution”.
—Eugene Daniels (@ EugeneDaniels2) January 5, 2021
Sekulow is the latest high-profile Republican to speak out against Trump’s attempt to overturn election results.
According to the Washington Post, 22 Senate Republicans oppose pressure from the President, while 13 support him. Sixteen Republican senators have not indicated a clear position on the matter.
Sekulow’s defection, however, is particularly notable given his long history of supporting the president’s legal efforts.
He signed to defend Trump after the House of Representatives impeached him for abuse of power and obstructed Congress over his efforts to strengthen the Ukrainian government by launching politically motivated investigations targeting the Bidens before the 2020 elections.
Sekulow also made headlines for defending a dubious and extraordinarily broad legal theory that the president is absolutely immune from criminal prosecution while in office. According to Sekulow, this meant that Trump would not only be immune from the accusation, but also from being investigated, summoned or called to testify.
“The president should not be treated like an ordinary citizen,” Sekulow argued before the Supreme Court last year, while representing Trump in a case against the Manhattan district attorney’s office. “He has responsibilities – he himself is a branch of the government. He is the only individual who is a branch of the government in the federal system.”
“Temporary presidential immunity is constitutionally required by Article II and, consequently, the supremacy clause defeats any authority that the DA has under state law over the president,” he said. The Supreme Court rejected Sekulow’s arguments and allowed the Manhattan prosecutor’s investigation to continue.