Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) reacted to a judge dismissing his electoral-vote-related lawsuit, suggesting that courts’ refusal to hear it means that conservatives don’t have any legal recourse moving forward.
As a result, according to Gohmert, more and more Americans may resort to violence and threats to get what they want. He argued that it’s because constitutionally-granted institutions are failing to resolve disputes.
After Gohmert made the assertion, Newsmax appeared to cut him off.
Earlier in the interview, the Texas lawmaker said he believes that not a single court has dismissed any Trump campaign-filed lawsuit on the basis of merit, noting that not one evidentiary hearing was conducted. He said that judges have thrown out cases based on procedural issues.
The lawsuits, Gohmert said, have not been debunked, and claims to the contrary “are absolute lies.”
Over the weekend, a panel of three judges with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed with U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle that Gohmert hadn’t suffered a specific injury caused by an action of Vice President Mike Pence, saying he doesn’t have legal standing.
“We need say no more, and we affirm the judgment essentially for the reasons stated by the district court,” the appeals court said. “We express no view on the underlying merits or on what putative party, if any, might have standing.”
Gohmert’s lawsuit sought to force Pence’s hand in acknowledging what the Texas representative argued was the vice president’s authority to reject key states’ Democratic electors during the Joint Session of Congress on Wednesday. Pence, in his capacity as vice president, will serve as the president of the Senate during that congressional session.
