A federal appeals court has thrown out GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert’s last-ditch attempt to subvert President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, his second rejection in two days in the Texas lawmaker’s attempt to empower Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the results.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals gave very short shrift to Gohmert’s legal effort, dismissing it summarily in a one-paragraph opinion issued Saturday evening.
The unsigned decision noted the district court’s ruling that Gohmert and 11 Arizona Republicans — who would have been electors for President Donald Trump — lacked legal standing to pursue the case.
“We need say no more, and we affirm the judgment essentially for the reasons stated by the district court,” the appeals court panel wrote. “We express no view on the underlying merits or on what putative party, if any, might have standing.”
The judges who rejected Gohmert’s appeal were all Republican appointees. The panel included Reagan appointees Patrick Higginbottom and Jerry Smith, as well as Trump appointee Andrew Oldham.