Mike Pence Is ‘Resurrection Of Benedict Arnold’ For Not Overturning Election Results, Pro-Trump Pastor Says

Mike Pence is coming under fire from some on the right for apparently pushing back on a movement calling on him to overturn the results of the election, with one prominent pro-Trump pastor comparing him to one of the most notorious traitors in American history.

Donald Trump and some of his close allies have reportedly expressed interest in a plan that would have Pence refuse to certify Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory when he oversees the formal tally later this month. Experts have said that this would not be possible. His only role is to preside over the process, and he does not actually hold the power to refuse to certify Biden as the winner. Pence himself appeared to break with those calling on him to change the outcome of the 2020 presidential race.

As The Associated Press reported, a House Republican filed a “last-gasp lawsuit” seeking to give Pence the power to overturn the results, but the Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to dismiss it. The suit named Pence as a defendant in asking the court to toss out an 1887 law that outlines how Congress handles the process of counting Electoral College votes.

In asking for the dismissal, the Justice Department said that he should not be a target of the suit.

“A suit to establish that the Vice President has discretion over the count, filed against the Vice President, is a walking legal contradiction,” the DOJ filing read.

His apparent unwillingness to engage in the last-gasp plot is drawing criticism from some of the president’s most fervent supporters. Greg Locke, a pastor who frequently defends the president on Twitter, compared Pence to Benedict Arnold as he forwarded the right’s unfounded claims of massive election fraud.

“I have always appreciated Vice President Mike Pence. He’s been a principled man on many issues. However, if he rolls over against Trump to save his own career, he will be the resurrection of Benedict Arnold. The fraud is too obvious to ignore,” he tweeted.

As The Inquisitr reported, many experts have said that there is no chance of changing the results of the race by having Pence intervene. Republican lawyer Ben Ginsberg said that the effort has a “zero percent chance” of succeeding, despite a number of top congressional Republicans backing the plan.

Trump has continued to maintain that he was the rightful winner of the election, saying that the victory was stolen from him through nationwide illegal voting. But his campaign and their allies have been unable to prove the allegations in court, losing a series of cases.