Impeachment article has 200 cosponsors: US rep.

During their weekly lunch Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence told President Donald Trump he does not have the power to reverse the outcome of the November election when he presides over Wednesday's joint session to certify Biden's victory, two sources familiar with the matter confirm to ABC News.  

The development was first reported by The New York Times. 

Trump had tweeted earlier in the day, "The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors."  

In a late-night statement, Trump called the reports untrue and continued to argue Pence has the power to overturn the election: "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."

However, the vice president's role as laid out by the Constitution does not give him that power and there are no "fraudulently chosen electors."

-ABC News' John Santucci and Will Steakin

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent out a new letter Tuesday to her Democratic colleagues on the eve of the Electoral College vote count on Capitol Hill -- a day that she refers to as having "enormous historic significance." 

Pelosi reminded her colleagues that Wednesday's event is a "solemn occasion" with no speaking roles during the Joint Session of Congress except for the announcing of votes of the states. Debate will happen if and when the House and Senate chambers break off after a valid objection is made. Over a quarter of Senate Republicans and possibly scores of House Republicans are planning on disputing the results.

Pelosi said that during the debate in the House, "We will have a civics lesson about protecting the integrity of our democracy."

"The state delegations and our leaders -- Representatives Zoe Lofgren, Jamie Raskin, Adam Schiff and Joe Neguse -- have been working on our Democratic presentation of the Constitutional, historical and thematic justification for respecting the will of the people," she wrote. 

Pelosi also said that access to the House floor will be limited to those members scheduled to speak during the debate portion of events when there is a valid objection. Members are encouraged to remain in their offices unless called to vote because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

She also had a stark warning for colleagues to always wear a face mask while inside the Capitol and on the House floor, writing, "These procedures are not a suggestion, but a direction made in the interest of keeping the Congress healthy and intact."

She concludes her message, "Tomorrow is about guaranteeing trust in our democratic system. As Members of Congress, we all have a responsibility to uphold the principle: the people are sovereign and that they hold the power to choose their leaders through the ballot box. I am confident that Democrats will honor this responsibility, with unity, patriotism and dignity For The People."

-ABC News' Mariam Khan and Ben Siegel

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, intends to object to the certification of Arizona's electoral votes Wednesday at the joint session of Congress, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The Washington Post,  which first reported the news, said that the objection to Arizona is a result of it being the first of the battleground states to come up since the state votes are ratified alphabetically.

"He will object to Arizona with a focus on electoral commission -- not setting aside election results," the source said, referencing a call by Cruz and a group of 10 other GOP senators who want an electoral commission appointed to look into what the group claims are "allegations" of voter fraud and irregularities, many of which have been widely discredited and debunked

ABC has also learned from a GOP aide familiar with the matter, that the group of 11 senators -- of which Cruz is a part -- plan to support an objection by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to Pennsylvania's certificates. The group includes Sens. Blackburn, Johnson, Lankford, among others.

-ABC News' Trish Turner

Jon Ossoff, one of the Democratic candidates in Georgia's Senate runoffs Tuesday, appeared on ABC's "GMA3" and weighed in on President Trump's campaign speech in Georgia Monday night, as well as what he called the "distraction" in Washington from the nation's pressing problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asked about Trump describing him as an "unhinged radical leftist who supports health care that will lead to death," and as someone who "doesn't like police" and will "destroy the economy," Ossoff said that the president is still trying to win the lost election and that the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are more important than the "damaged ego of a narcissist who was defeated resoundingly."

Ossoff added that "Georgia's own Centers for Disease Control should take the lead" on COVID-19. "We've got to get free testing and vaccines, as I said, to everybody -- because otherwise ... it will be your wealth and connections that determine whether you are protected from this virus."

Ossoff also spoke about his relationship with the other Democratic candidate, Rev. Raphael Warnock, saying, "it speaks to just how far the state of Georgia has come and how far the American South has come that not only is Georgia the most competitive battleground in the country, not only will these two Senate runoffs determine Senate control, but the Democratic standard-bearers are the young Jewish journalist son of an immigrant mentored by John Lewis, and a Black pastor who holds Dr. King's pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church."

Asked about the expected GOP efforts to object to the Electoral College vote count in Congress on Wednesday, Ossoff dismissed it a "circus."

"The efforts to overturn the results of this election are an attack on Georgia voters. We need to be looking forward. You know, this is all a distraction in the midst of a dire national crisis. We are losing thousands of people per day to COVID-19. Hospital systems and nursing homes are buckling under the weight of this outbreak, millions of families face the possibility of eviction or foreclosure or having difficulty putting food on the table. The circus in Washington is irrelevant. What matters is addressing the suffering of the American people."