Vice President Mike Pence is facing increased pressure from the GOP and President Donald Trump over election fraud, particularly in the certification of votes by Congress on Wednesday, Jan. 6, a report reveals.
On two occasions, One America News Network said, Trump expressed expectations they have on Pence regarding the issue of Congress' certifying the Dec. 14 Electoral Congress decision in favor of former Vice President Joseph Biden amidst various accounts of voter irregularities that have arisen after the Nov. 3 elections.
First, Trump tweeted on Tuesday, "The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors."
The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2021
Second, Trump announced to the crowd gathered for Georgia's run-offs that, "I hope that our great Vice President comes through for us, he's a great guy. Of course if he doesn't come through, I won't like him quite as much. No, Mike is a great guy. He's a great man and a smart man."
The Independent, on the other hand, explained that the pressure on Pence comes from him executing on Wednesday as President of the Senate and in his constitutional role to oversee a joint session of Congress that will vote to confirm Biden's victory in the US elections.
Previously, the Independent said, Pence released a statement through his Chief Of Staff Marc Short that, "The vice president welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people on January 6th."
Texas Representative Louie Gohmert have issued a statement that supports Trump's Twitter announcement on the Vice President's authority to overturn the elections.
Gohmert reveals that he and others have already "filed a complaint for expedited declaratory and emergency injunctive relief to seek judgment from the court on the Vice President's authority when presiding over the Senate during the Joint Session of Congress".
"We are asking the court to uphold the powers laid out in the United States Constitution which grant the Vice President the exclusive authority and sole discretion in determining which electoral votes to count," he said in the statement.
"As outlined in the filing, the Electoral Count Act is unconstitutional because it directs Vice President Pence to legitimize electoral votes in violation of the Electors Clause and limits or eliminates his Twelfth Amendment authority to determine which slates of electors should be counted and which, if any, may not be counted," he explained.
According to Gohmert, "this is fundamental because no statute can constitutionally supply rules to the extent that such statute violates the U.S. Constitution". He and his companions also "hope that there is a federal judge who understands that the fraud that stole this election will mean the end of our republic, and this suit would insure that the Vice-President will only accept electors legitimately and legally elected."
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that Pence have told Trump that "he lacks power to change election result" and that the President was wrong in his assertion that Pence had the power to overturn the election results.
Team Trump on Tuesday released an official statement from Trump hitting on The New York Times article as "fake news."
"The New York Times report regarding comments Vice President Pence supposedly made to me today is fake news. He never said that. The Vice President and I are in total agreement that the Vice President has the power to act," Trump said in the statement.
"The November 3rd election was corrupt in contested states, and in particular it was not in accordance with the Constitution in that they made large scale changes to election rules and regulations as dictated by local judges and politicians, not by state legislators. This means that it was illegal," Trump said in the statement.
"Our Vice President has several options under the U.S. Constitution. He can decertify the results or send them back to the states for change and certification. He can also decertify the illegal and corrupt results and send them to the House of Representatives for the one vote for one state tabulation," Trump explained, which ended the content of the statement.
There was actually no mention in Pence's Twitter account regarding the issue. Pence was actually actively retweeting Team Trump's efforts in the Georgia runoffs up to Tuesday night and have even tweeted support for the Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue before tweeting for people to "get out and VOTE to defend the majority" with a photo of himself and the said senators.