Yes, he really did follow the Constitution, open the door to Arizona and other states to challenge the slate of electors. The Senate President does have multiple paths; he choose the path most steeped in the Constitution because it was the least controversial path, a path that would not lead to biased opinion: Trump made him do it ... Likely the Uniparty is trying take away powers from the President of the Senate so they do not have to deal with a situation like this in the future, and perhaps Pence made them hold their breath too long in this round. Regardless, the Uniparty showed their hand on how they view the legality by affirming the legality by trying to take away from the Senate President. As far as the letter goes, you are right he didn't need it, but if we are trying to reestablish the rule of law by Constitution it needed to be in writing for future generational reference.