Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that he lacked standing to bring a lawsuit aimed at empowering Vice President Mike Pence to overturn President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s victory.
Mr. Gohmert late Friday night filed a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit of the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Kernodle, a Trump appointee based in Tyler, Texas.
The lawmaker told Newsmax that he expects the appeals court to act ahead of Jan. 6, when Congress is scheduled to vote on certifying the Electoral College results that show Mr. Biden won with 306 votes.
“Bottom line is, the court is saying, ’we’re not going to touch this, you have no remedy,’” Mr. Gohmert said. “Basically, in effect, the ruling would be that you’ve got to go to the streets and be as violent as antifa and BLM.”
The lower court said his lawsuit, which was filed against Mr. Pence, couldn’t be brought by an individual member of Congress, because it seeks relief that would apply to the entire House and Senate.
Mr. Gohmert is asking the court to declare that Mr. Pence, who is required to preside over the Jan. 6 session of Congress, has the sole authority to decide whether some of Mr. Biden’s electoral votes from contested battleground states should be rejected. If Mr. Biden didn’t receive the required 270 or more electoral votes, the House would choose the next president.
SEE ALSO: Louie Gohmert lawsuit against Mike Pence dismissed by federal judge
But Judge Kernodle said Mr. Gohmert’s argument was speculative.
“Congressman Gohmert’s alleged injury requires a series of hypothetical—but by no means certain—events,” the judge wrote in the ruling on Friday night. “Plaintiffs presuppose what the Vice President will do on January 6, which electoral votes the Vice President will count or reject from contested states, whether a Representative and a Senator will object under Section 15 of the Electoral Count Act, how each member of the House and Senate will vote on any such objections, and how each state delegation in the House would potentially vote under the Twelfth Amendment absent a majority electoral vote.”
The ruling stated, “All that makes Congressman Gohmert’s alleged injury far too uncertain to support standing under.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.