U.S. appeals court rejects lawmaker's bid to have Pence overturn Biden's
win
Send a link to a friend
[January 04, 2021]
(Reuters) - A federal appeals court
on Saturday rejected a Republican congressman's bid to allow Vice
President Mike Pence to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's Nov. 3
election victory in favor of President Donald Trump.
In a brief order, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals upheld a federal judge's decision on Friday to toss U.S.
Representative Louie Gohmert's lawsuit, which had argued that Pence had
the power to invalidate Biden's win when Congress meets to certify the
results on Wednesday.
Trump, a Republican, has refused to concede to Biden, claiming without
evidence that his victory was due to widespread fraud. Dozens of
election officials and judges around the country have dismissed Trump's
allegations.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Jan/04/images/ads/current/stclara_lda_SPONSOR_090519.png)
Under the U.S. system, the presidency is determined by the Electoral
College, which allots electoral votes to states and the District of
Columbia based on congressional representation. Biden, who won the
national popular vote by more than 7 million votes, prevailed in the
Electoral College 306-232.
U.S. law requires Congress to formally count the electoral vote on Jan.
6.
Gohmert, a Texas Republican and staunch Trump ally, filed the lawsuit
along with Republican electors from Arizona, asserting that Pence could
throw out electoral votes in his role as the presiding officer of the
Senate.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/010421pics/news_w37.jpg)
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a rally in Kinston, North
Carolina, U.S., October 25, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake
![](../images/ads/current/fitzpatrick_lda_SPONSOR_2017.png)
But U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle, a Trump appointee, ruled on
Friday that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue because they had
not suffered any personal harm.
The 5th Circuit judges, all appointed by Republican presidents,
including a Trump appointee, agreed. The Justice Department,
representing Pence, had opposed the lawsuit.
Some Congressional Republicans have said they will object to the
electoral count, though their effort appears to have no chance of
altering the outcome. On Saturday, Senator Ted Cruz announced a
group of 11 senators would challenge Biden's tally.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by David Gregorio)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Jan/04/images/ads/current/graue_16_enclave_122820.png) |