On Mike Pence’s Behalf, DOJ Tells Court That Louie Gohmert’s Attempt to Sue VP Is ‘A Walking Legal Contradiction’ – By Matt Naham (Law and Crime) / Dec 31 2020
The Department of Justice has, on Vice President Mike Pence’s behalf, asked a federal judge to deny emergency injunctive relief sought by fake pro-Trump electors and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) in an attempt to invalidate Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.
The DOJ’s answer to the extreme proposition that VP Pence has the power to ignore electoral votes and hand President Donald Trump a second term was straightforward: You are suing the “wrong defendant.”
But these plaintiffs’ suit is not a proper vehicle for addressing those issues because plaintiffs have sued the wrong defendant. The Vice President—the only defendant in this case—is ironically the very person whose power they seek to promote. The Senate and the House, not the Vice President, have legal interests that are sufficiently adverse to plaintiffs to ground a case or controversy under Article III. Defendant respectfully request denial of plaintiffs’ emergency motion because the relief that plaintiffs request does not properly lie against the Vice President.
