Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday told President Donald Trump that he does not have the authority to block certification of President-elect Joe Biden's win when Congress meets to count electoral votes, sources told CNN.
Trump, who already had turned up the pressure on Pence to steal the election, warned him that it would be politically "damaging" for Pence to refuse to block certification, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
Pence gently informed Trump during the meeting that the power doesn't exist for him to derail the process, the source added.
The vice president went on to tell Trump there are outliers saying that the authority exists, but Pence has been told by the White House Counsel's Office he doesn't have that authority, according to this source who was briefed on the conversation. The meeting at the White House came after Pence met with the Senate parliamentarian earlier this week to go over his role in the proceedings.
Pence is due to arrive on Capitol Hill at 1 p.m. ET to preside over the joint session of Congress that will formalize President-elect Joe Biden's victory over Trump. As president of the Senate, his role is purely ceremonial: he will open envelopes, present them to "tellers" and announce the winner at the end.
It's a duty he's tried, unsuccessfully, to explain to Trump over several meetings stretching hours, beginning in the middle of last month. During a final huddle in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Pence again made clear that his powers do not allow him to block certification of Biden's win.
a futile bid by radicalized pro-Trump Republicans to block the process based on bogus vote-fraud claims will inflict new blows on national unity, respect for bedrock institutions and the public legitimacy of Biden's presidency. The objections to state results expected to be lodged by a dozen Senate Republicans could drag out the process for hours and are likely to deepen the conviction of Trump voters, battered by a barrage of propaganda from the President and conservative media, that he was unfairly beaten in November.
Why so many politicians are lawyers? They know how to speak, and make it sound truthful! Politicians are professional actors! Remember, most of them want u vote and Only their actions can reveal their true intention! 80% of the time they r control by the powerful lobbyist, and can never protect the nation interest! This is happening worldwide! They sell out their country s resources and turn their nation into death slaves! Sadly people still believe in them, because they have no choice! After all, we need politicians to run the country! They r the devils advocates!!!
Roughly an hour before the much-await joint session of Congress began, President Trump began addressing a Washington, DC, rally in his favor, and put forth the assertion he has long made: He won. The Washington Post has select remarks: "We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved," a reference to fraudulent vote counts. "We won this election, and we won it by a landslide. This was not a close election."
As for the certification of Joe Biden's win Trump said this, "I hope Mike is going to do the right thing. I hope so. I hope so, because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election. All Vice President Pence has to do is recertify, and we become president and you are the happiest people."
