Judge Throws Out Gohmert Lawsuit Seeking To Empower Pence To Overturn Election Results | Talking Points Memo

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A federal judge in Texas on Friday tossed out a lawsuit by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) that sought to overturn the presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1351739
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I told y’all Jeremy was a good guy.

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A hard slap to the face heard nationwide…

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They’re suing Pence in order to establish that Pence has some extraordinary, heretofore unknown powers. What could possibly go wrong?

We’ve also now determined that being butt-hurt by the results of an election is not sufficient to confer standing. Who knew?

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Gohmert continues and he knows this goes nowhere.

Judge rules “no standing” in my lawsuit to toss fraudulent Biden electors. If I don’t have standing, no one does. When no one ever has standing, what good is a court system? My response on @Newsmax below #SaveTheRepublic #StopTheSteal https://t.co/HLQCM6S5CE

— Louie Gohmert (@replouiegohmert) January 2, 2021

For those asking why federal courts keep tossing election suits for lack of “standing,” rather than because the claims lack merit, they don’t have a choice.#SCOTUS doctrine *requires* federal courts to decide whether plaintiffs have standing *before* they can reach the merits.

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) January 2, 2021
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The judge didn’t make a finding on the merits of Gohmert’s allegations. Judge Jeremy Kernodle, a Trump appointee in the Eastern District of Texas ruled that Gohmert and the Arizona electors who joined with him in the suit did not have standing to sue.

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Such an intelligent guy. To be continually stymied by so many others must be frustrating.

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Remember this asshole was actually a Texas Judge

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Yup. He’s put the seedy in sedition.

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See ya Nov. 6

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Except in East Texas…

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Is “gohmert” a verb yet?

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It’s hard to hear when Ted Cruz has his tongue in your ear canal.

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Ewwww!

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Gohmert pretends to be stupid and plays with fire.

This stems from the 1998 Steel Co. ruling—rejecting the doctrine of “hypothetical jurisdiction,” where courts had *assumed* standing in cases in which it was easier to reject plaintiffs’ claims on the merits. As Justice Scalia wrote for the Court, Article III doesn’t permit that.

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) January 2, 2021

So in a case in which plaintiffs lack standing (a jurisdictional defect) *and* have no viable claim on the merits, a federal court has no discretion to actually hold that there’s no merit; it *must* dismiss for lack of standing—or else it’s committing reversible error.

/end

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) January 2, 2021

Gohmert isn’t just a member of Congress; he’s one of the senior Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee—tasked with regulatory and oversight authority over federal courts. And he’s a former state trial and appellate judge.

He knows better, even if those he’s scamming don’t. https://t.co/lf97PY60Bp

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) January 2, 2021
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How about tossing out Gohmert?

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You know you shouldn’t bait me like that! :rofl:

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Who’d take him in?

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It will not be Trump.
He hates losers.

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But Gomer is such a thoughtful dude. Surely, he wouldn’t sign on to a frivolous lawsuit

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