Mike Pence: My Last Days With Donald Trump – WSJ

Early on New Year s Day, the phone rang. Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert and other Republicans had filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to declare that I had exclusive authority and sole discretion to decide which electoral votes should count. I don t want to see Pence Opposes Gohmert Suit as a headline this morning, the president said. I told him I did oppose it. If it gives you the power, he asked, why would you oppose it? I told him, as I had many times, that I didn t believe I possessed that power under the Constitution.

You re too honest, he chided. Hundreds of thousands are gonna hate your guts. . . . People are gonna think you re stupid.

On Saturday, Jan. 2, I instructed my chief of staff to issue a statement supporting the right of lawmakers to bring objections under the Electoral Count Act. By Sunday morning, the headline Pence Welcomes Congressional Republicans Bid to Challenge Electoral Votes was everywhere. When the president called me that morning, his mood had brightened. You have gone from very unpopular to popular! he exclaimed. But then he pressed me again to reject electoral votes unilaterally. You can be a historic figure, he said, but if you wimp out, you re just another somebody.

On Jan. 4, the president s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, summoned me to the Oval Office for a meeting with a long list of attendees, including the legal scholar John Eastman. I listened respectfully as Mr. Eastman argued that I should modify the proceedings, which require that electoral votes be opened and counted in alphabetical order, by saving the five disputed states until the end. Mr. Eastman claimed I had the authority to return the votes to the states until each legislature certified which of the competing slate of electors for the state was correct. I had already confirmed that there were no competing electors.

via www.wsj.com

Yikes. You gotta stick by the Constitution. Otherwise, what have you got? You might as well be a Progressive!