Pence faces pressure from Trump to thwart Electoral College vote - CNNPolitics - 0 views
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Vice President Mike Pence's four years of faithful service to his boss, President Donald Trump, will culminate this week in a ceremonial act he's under increasing pressure to thwart.
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"The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors," Trump declared falsely on Tuesday
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"I hope Mike Pence comes through for us, I have to tell you," Trump said Monday night during a political rally in Georgia, where his public arm-twisting was met with cheers. "Of course, if he doesn't come through, I won't like him as much."
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It was a direct message to a vice president whose defining political characteristic remains his unyielding fealty to Trump. How Pence proceeds on Wednesday when he presides over the certification of the Electoral College tally could determine his future relationship with the man he has served loyally, even in moments of political peril.
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Trump has become intensely interested in Pence's ceremonial role during the certification of the Electoral College.
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There is little expectation among Trump or Pence's aides that he will divert from his constitutionally-prescribed role.
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Pence and White House aides have tried to explain to him that Pence's role is more of a formality and he cannot unilaterally reject the Electoral College votes.
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"Vice President Pence shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities in the last election," Short wrote. "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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Trump retweeted a call from one of his supporters for Pence to refuse to ratify the Electoral College results on January 6
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"That decision has to get made by the President and vice president, and they are actually meeting today and going through all the research -- they probably aren't going to make that decision by sometime tomorrow," Giuliani said on a podcast hosted by Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist.
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Giuliani ticked though several issues he characterized as constitutional matters that he said Pence and Trump would discuss. He framed the decision as one for both Trump and Pence -- even though the President has made clear he believes Pence should somehow act to prevent the certification
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procedure and process can hardly inure Pence from the outrage of a President who still believes the election was stolen from him and has been fed conspiracies about the results from a band of fringe advisers.
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Trump offered tacit approval for the lawsuit filed by his Republican ally Rep. Louie Gohmert pressuring Pence into overturning the election results and was later disappointed to learn his own Justice Department was asking a judge to reject the suit, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trump and Pence discussed the matter at the end of last week.
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Traditionally, the vice president presides over the electoral vote certification, though it's not a requirement. In 1969, then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey didn't preside over the process since he had just lost the presidential election to Richard Nixon. The president pro tempore of the Senate presided instead.
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"I know we've all got our doubts about the last election," he said. "I want to assure you, I share the concerns of the millions of Americans about voting irregularity. I promise you, come this Wednesday, we'll have our day in Congress, we'll hear the objections, we'll hear the evidence."