A YouTube video in which the president of the Arizona GOP describes her legal attempt to reverse the results of the 2020 election as a “friendly lawsuit” is now being used to undermine her case.
The far-fetched GOP bid submitted by Kelli Ward and Rep. Louie Gohmert
Louis (Louie) Buller GohmertPence asks judge for GOP lawmaker’s bid to reverse election results Wall Street Journal editors beat Trump’s “ embarrassing electoral college bustle ” Here Republicans plan to review results electoral college to challenge MORE (R-Texas) wants to allow Vice President Pence to bypass federal electoral law when he presides over a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. Rather than carrying out its legal duty to finalize the President-elect Joe Biden
Joe BidenBidens honors frontline workers in NYE’s address: ‘We owe them, we owe them, we owe them’ Trump hotel in DC raises room rates for inauguration Biden Video shows long lines on last day of early vote in Georgia MORE‘s win, Pence would be free to effectively and himself President Trump
Donald Trump Trump hotel in DC raises room rates for inauguration Biden GOP lawmaker criticizes Trump colleagues for ‘discrediting’ election Video shows long lines on last day of early Georgia vote MORE a second term.
Suffrage experts say the lawsuit is a non-starter – and it’s possible Ward’s YouTube video could hasten its demise.
Under the constitution, courts are only allowed to rule on actual legal disputes, or what the drafters called “cases or controversies.” So Ward’s suggestion that the GOP plaintiffs share the same goal as Pence to nullify Biden’s victory could convince a judge to throw the streak.
“We love Vice President Mike Pence
Michael (Mike) Richard PenceWall Street Journal Editorial Board Knocks Trump’s ‘Shameful Electoral College Hustle’ 2020’s Peak Moments of Political Celebrities in Georgia Georgia Voters Flood Polls Ahead of Critical Senate GamesWard said in Tuesday’s YouTube video. We love him. And this is what is known in democratic circles as a ‘friendly court case’. ”
“What we all want here is the integrity of the election, including Vice President Pence,” she added. “And we want to give him the tools necessary to do that.”
Neither Ward nor her attorneys have responded to a request for comment.
In a legal letter filed Friday, lawyers for Ward, Gohmert and the other Republican prosecutors downplayed the significance of the comments, noting that Ward is just one of many prosecutors in the case and suggesting that “ the ‘friendly’ comment could have been a reference to “personal relationships”.
Ward’s YouTube video was first brought to the attention of the court in a letter Thursday night by Timothy Dowling, a Texas attorney seeking to intervene against the GOP plaintiffs. Dowling cited Ward’s comments at length in an application to U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle, a Trump-appointed person who presides over the case in Texas federal court.
Ms. Ward’s video is an acknowledgment by the party of the obvious: there is no real case or controversy here, ”Dowling wrote.“ All plaintiffs and the sole defendant want to achieve the same result: let Donald Trump remain president of the United States after January 20, 2021. “
“This lawsuit is a bogus one,” added Dowling, “and this court should reject plaintiffs’ invitation to swim in these political waters, where it lacks proper jurisdiction over this bogus alleged controversy.”
The role of the vice president in chairing the January 6 meeting is typically a largely ceremonial role governed by an 1887 federal law known as the Electoral Count Act. But the Republican lawsuit tries to invalidate the law, arguing that it imposes an unconstitutional restriction on the vice president’s authority to choose between competing claims of victory when the election results are contested at the state level.
Republicans in several major battlefield states have contested Biden’s victory and offered alternative “slates” of pro-Trump voters to count on Wednesday, but experts say these efforts have no legal weight.
Pence, for his part, told the court on Thursday that he was not a real defendant in the lawsuit. As Vice President, Pence said, his legal interests are not “sufficiently contrary to plaintiffs” to clear the constitutional requirement that there be a “case or controversy” before a court weighs in.
“The vice president – the sole defendant in this case – is ironically the very person whose power they are trying to promote,” wrote a Justice Department attorney representing Pence. “A lawsuit to determine that the vice president has discretion over the count, filed against the vice president, is an ongoing legal contradiction.”
Regardless, a Colorado Biden voter asked the judge for permission to participate in the lawsuit as a defendant, citing concerns that Pence and the Department of Justice would not adequately represent the interests of Biden voters. The judge has not yet said whether additional parties will be allowed.
A ruling in the case is expected within days.