National lawyers group seeks to have Gohmert disciplined over election suit

A nonpartisan national lawyers association called for Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and his attorneys to be penalized for their lawsuit against Vice President Pence seeking to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election.

In a letter Monday, Lawyers Defending American Democracy said the “specious” lawsuit violated legal ethics and prohibitions against lawyers representing a client “in a way that is frivolous, dishonest, untruthful, and malicious.”

Gohmert’s lawsuit sought to allow Pence to challenge the results of the election in his role presiding over Wednesday’s joint session of Congress to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Pence does not have the power as vice president to dispute the results, and the lawsuit has been dismissed by both a federal district judge and a three-panel appeals court.

“It is hard to conceive of a more self-evident breach of these oaths and ethical prohibitions than this case. The client wants to overturn — baselessly — the results of a free, fair and secure election. His lawyers have decided to dispense with the Constitution, the ethics prohibition against frivolous lawsuits, truth, fairness and honor in an effort to serve their client’s purposes,” the group wrote. “This conduct is an unacceptable abuse of the courts and a perversion of the honor and privilege of a license to practice law.”

Pence’s attorney William L. Sessions, the brother of Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), called the letter a “political attempt at retribution” in an interview with the Dallas Morning News.

“The State Bar is very careful about its disciplinary proceedings,” he told the newspaper. “They want to take things of merit, that are not oriented about grudges or animosities or political differences. I have a great deal of confidence the State Bar, if they receive a complaint, will handle it appropriately. I’m going to lose no sleep over this whatsoever.”

The Hill has reached out to Gohmert’s office for comment.