A.G. Gancarski
President Donald Trump continued on Tuesday to press Vice President Mike Pence to take an active role in blocking electors pledged to President-elect Joe Biden.
As the Georgia Senate votes were counted, Trump’s “campaign” issued a statement decrying as “fake news” a New York Times report that Pence squawked at taking action.
“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.
“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 added.
The statement did not come from The White House, meaning that the President again took the step of using his political arm to send a message to his second-in-command, continuing a theme established this week as congressional certification of the electors looms on Wednesday.
“The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors,” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning, continuing a narrative that he’d established the night before at an event in Georgia.
On Monday night, Trump sent a message to his own Vice President about the certification of the election while making the urgent case to return Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue to the Senate.
“I hope Mike Pence comes through for us, I have to tell you. I hope that our great Vice President comes through for us,” Trump said in Dalton. “If he doesn’t come through, of course, I won’t like him very much. He’s going to have a lot to say about it.”
“You know one thing with him, you’re going to get straight shots. He’s going to call it straight,” Trump added, calling Pence a “straight shooter,” in an address less than 48 hours before challenges to the election in the House and the Senate.
Pence’s ultimate ability to change election results seems to be a muddled question, with the 1887 Electoral Count Act potentially imposing restrictions on a Vice President in that role. His charge would be to “preserve order,” and the law does not grant explicit authority beyond that.
One comment
Sonja Fitch
January 5, 2021 at 2:17 am
Yo Pence! The rule of law , the Constitution, and the Vote of Americans is very clear, Trump lost! The responsibility of the Vice President is clear that only the VP permitted to MODERATE! Rutherford you are a damn traitor!
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