Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis on Wednesday said that she was “deeply disappointed” in Vice President Mike Pence, who refused to reject disputed electoral votes, saying that he believes he lacks the power to do so under the U.S. Constitution.
Instead, he said that when disputes about elections arise, it is the responsibility of the “people’s representatives who review the evidence and resolve disputes through democratic process.”
Ellis, who has been representing the campaign in President Donald Trump’s post-election challenges, said that although the U.S. Constitution limits Pence’s role, the vice president still had constitutional options that he could have taken to protect election integrity.
Earlier this week, Ellis had suggested that Pence could have delayed the certification of the Electoral College votes and asked the legislatures in six disputed states—Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada—which slate of electors should be selected.
Republican electors on Dec. 14 in the six states cast dueling Electoral College votes, citing pending legal challenges. Those votes have not been authorized by their state officials.
“And that’s a fair question. That’s not exercising discretion. That’s not setting up any sort of bad precedent,” she added. “That’s actually returning the authority to the constitutionally vested entity, and to simply direct that question I think would then require a response from these very timid, to put it lightly, state legislators that haven’t been willing to act, and it would in fact then give a very clean outcome to this election.”
Under Article II of the U.S. Constitution, presidential electors must be appointed by each state in the manner prescribed by the state’s legislature.
Pence’s role during the Jan. 6 session has been heavily debated in recent days, as Trump and his allies hope that the vice president will reject the slate of electors for contested states. Meanwhile, critics have said that Pence’s role is simply ministerial in that he only has the ability to count the votes even if he has concerns over their validity.
Republican lawmaker Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) attempted to seek clarification from the federal courts last week by filing a lawsuit against Pence. His lawsuit, which was dismissed by a district and appeals court, argued that Pence had the “exclusive authority and sole discretion under the 12th Amendment to determine which slates of electors for a state, or neither, may be counted.”
The vice president believes his role is “largely ceremonial,” he said in his letter to Congress, but he added that he will “ensure that any objections that are sponsored by both a Representative and a Senator are given proper consideration, and that all facts supporting those objections are brought before the Congress and the American people.”
He also rejected claims that raising objections during the Electoral College vote count is undemocratic.
The joint session was forced to suspend following civil unrests on U.S. Capitol grounds. A subgroup of protesters breached the Capitol building after breaking windows to enter as members of Congress were sitting during a joint session to count Electoral College votes.
It’s unclear whether House GOP representatives and senators will continue their plan to object to the electoral counting efforts. Before the House and Senate chambers were evacuated and put into lockdown, lawmakers were debating a challenge to the electoral votes for Arizona.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and dozens of Republican representatives objected to Arizona’s electoral certification.
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