CCL President Robert S. Peck told the Washington, DC CBS affiliate, WUSA-9, that the vice president had no authority to refuse to recognize the certified results of the Electoral College in an interview just before Congress took up that process.

     Peck told WUSA-9 that the vice president's role is ceremonial and that there were no further legal or constitutional options to overturn the result. Shortly after the interview, Vice President Mike Pence issued a statement recognizing that the truth of what Peck said. Peck added that the next date to watch was January 20 to see if there is any resistance on the part of the president to leave office. Still, he said, the Trump presidency ends on that date as a constitutional matter.

     In a second and separate interview with the station, Peck was asked about the Expulsion Clause, which was used during the Civil War to expel some members of Congress loyal to the Confederacy. He said he thought today's senators objecting to the Electoral College certification were phrasing their objections carefully to avoid providing a smoking gun of their disloyalty, even though they are likely to be accused of that.

     The assault on the Capitol building by Trump supporters occurred shortly after both interviews.