U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle on Friday night tossed out a lawsuit filed against Vice President Mike Pence by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and other Republicans that sought to broaden the vice president's authority to reject electoral votes cast for President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 6 when he oversees the Electoral College certification.
Pence's role in the process, as laid out in an 1887 law governing presidential election certification, is considered ceremonial; he has the responsibility of opening, announcing, and tallying the results. The plaintiffs, however, are hoping he takes on an expanded role to invalidate them as part of a longshot, last-ditch effort to overturn the presidential election.
Kernodle, who was appointed by President Trump, dismissed the case because he found that Gohmert and his fellow plaintiffs lacked a sufficient legal stake to justify the lawsuit. Kernodle's ruling comes a day after a Justice Department attorney representing Pence requested the lawsuit be rejected. Gohmert has said his lawyers will appeal. Read more at The New York Times and The Washington Post.
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