On Twitter, President Donald Trump denied that Vice President Mike Pence told him he lacks the power to stop today’s Electoral College certification by Congress.
The details of the conversation were published in The New York Times, citing an anonymous source. The report notes that Pence reportedly delivered the news during his weekly lunch with the president.
On Tuesday, Trump falsely tweeted “The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.”
“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 in a statement issued Tuesday night.
“Our Vice President has several options under the U.S. Constitution,” the statement continued. “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.”
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Pence’s role in today’s congressional certification of the Electoral College results is largely ceremonial. His responsibility is to open the session, present the votes in alphabetical order and ask if there are any objections.
The vice president has not stated that he will intervene in the constitutional process.
Marc Short, Pence’s chief of staff, said in a statement that “The Vice President welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people on January 6th.”
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There are expected to be several states that will object to the votes. These states will then each have two hours to debate. However, that process still will not derail the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20.
“If Vice President @Mike_Pence comes through for us, we will win the Presidency,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Many States want to decertify the mistake they made in certifying incorrect & even fraudulent numbers in a process NOT approved by their State Legislatures (which it must be). Mike can send it back!”
The president is expected to speak at a rally in D.C. today at 11 a.m.
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