The outgoing US vice president, Mike Pence, asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from US GOP House representative Louie Gohmert, that give Pence an opportunity to review the presidential race.
“Plaintiffs have presented this Court with an emergency motion raising a host of weighty legal issues about the manner in which the electoral votes for President are to be counted. But these plaintiffs' suit is not a proper vehicle for addressing those issues because plaintiffs have sued the wrong defendant”, the 14-page Pence filing reads.
Gohmert, a Texas Republican, and a number of Republicans in Arizona, have filed a lawsuit against Pence in a Texas state court with the intention of proving that he has the exclusive right to determine which electoral college members will be counted at the joint session of Congress on January 6.
The lawsuit asks the court to give Pence the right to overturn the presidential election in what are claimed by some in the GOP to be 'wavering' states.
Both chambers of the US Congress are expected to approve the results of the electoral vote at a joint meeting on 6 January. According to law, legislators can oppose the voting results in a particular state. An objection must be filed in writing by at least one member of the House of Representatives and one member of the Senate.
Several Republicans, including Senator Josh Hawley and Representative Mo Brooks, have announced their intention to contest the results of the Electoral College.
In the event of such a protest, the meeting of Congress would be suspended so that both chambers can separately consider and vote on the issue. If at least one of the chambers of the legislature speaks out against, the protest is not accepted. Experts point out that the House of Representatives, where the majority belongs to the Democrats, will vote against any initiative that calls into question Biden's victory.
On December 14, the Electoral College confirmed Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential race, following all 50 US states and territories officially certifying the vote results. Trump has refused to concede, claiming the election outcome was rigged. Biden's inauguration is scheduled for January 20. He has 306 electoral votes from the states, against 232 to Trump.