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, CNN reports.
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.
Read also: US Vice-President, Mike Pence Lauds Senators’ Move To Derail Result
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.
The New York Times was first to report on Pence’s message to the President.
In a statement released through his campaign, the President disputed the story.
“The New York Times report regarding comments Vice President Pence supposedly made to me today is fake news. He never said that. The Vice President and I are in total agreement that the Vice President has the power to act,” Trump said.
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