Recent text messages between Sen. Mike Lee and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows show that Lee advised and supported former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Reports also revealed that Lee was aware of a legally dubious strategy for then-Vice President Mike Pence to cast his vote on the Electoral College much earlier than he claimed.
CNN published nearly 100 text messages from Lee and Texas Representative Chip Roy to Meadows after the loss of Trump’s 2020 election.
Lee’s efforts to help Trump began on November 7, the day Democrat Joe Biden was declared the winner. He sent Meadows a statement signed by leaders of several prominent conservative groups, urging Trump to “exhaust all legal and constitutional remedies” to challenge the results.
“Use it as you see fit,” Lee wrote. “And if it’s helpful to leak it, don’t hesitate to do so.”
Lee also pressed Meadows to help Sidney Powell’s lawyer gain access to Trump. Powell says a secret conspiracy involving George Soros, the late Hugo Chavez, the CIA and thousands of election officials is plotting to steal votes from Trump in 2020.
“Sidney (sic) Powell says he has to come in to see the president, but they keep her away from him. Apparently she has a strategy to keep things alive and bring several states back into play. Can you help her in? ”Lee wrote to Meadows on November 7.
Two days later, Lee spoke again to Meadows on Powell’s behalf.
“Sydney told us that campaign lawyers who do not know are not focused on this and are hampering progress. I have no way to verify or deny this myself, but I found out that she is a shooter, “Lee wrote.
Powell’s allegations of conspiracy led to her defamation lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic. Powell faces a number of disciplinary actions, including dismissal, in several states for his actions after the 2020 election.
On November 19, Lee realized that his support for Powell may have been a mistake after a disastrous press conference in which she detailed strange allegations of a global communist conspiracy to rig the election against Trump.
“I’m worried about Powell’s press conference,” Lee wrote in the first of a series of text messages. “Unless Powell can support everything she said that I doubt she can.
Over the next three days, Lee attacked Meadows several times, asking for orders to march.
“Please give me something to work with. I just need to know what to say, “Lee wrote on November 19.
“Please tell me what to say,” Lee asked the next day.
On November 23, Lee first mentioned attorney John Eastman, proposing some irregularities in several states and offering an audit.
“Eastman has some really interesting research on this. The good news is (sic) that Eastman is proposing an approach that, unlike what Sidney Powell suggested (sic), can be considered very quickly, “Lee said.
Eastman is behind a scheme to undermine election results by prompting a handful of Biden-run states to present alternative voter lists. Competitive rankings would allow the vice president to reject the results of those states, possibly throwing the election to the House of Representatives to keep Trump in the White House.
Lee claims he first learned of Eastman’s plan on Jan. 2 when he received a copy of a confidential note from the White House. He told authors Bob Woodward and Robert Costa that he was “surprised” by the plan and made a “phone call after phone call” to see if some states were ready to certify alternative voters, but found none.
In fact, Lee was aware of this gambit almost a month before he said so.
On December 8, Lee sent Meadows: “If a very small handful of states have to get their legislatures to appoint alternate lists of delegates, there may be a plan,” Lee wrote.
“I’ve been working on this since yesterday,” Meadows said.
Eastman invoked his rights under the Fifth Amendment when questioned by a House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Eastman was asked about his communication with Lee, but also referred to Petty.
On December 16, Lee asked Meadows if he wanted some senators to object to the certification of the vote, which was part of Eastman’s plan to discard the results. But Lee seemed to cool off to the plan, realizing that such a move might not be legal.
“Furthermore, if you want senators to object, we need to hear from you that ideally we will be given guidance on what arguments to raise,” Lee wrote.
“I think we’ve already crossed the point where we can expect someone to do it without any direction and a strong argument,” Lee added.
The next available message to Meadows came on January 3, when he warned of efforts by Texas Senator Ted Cruz and others to object to the election results.
(Patrick Semansky | AP) Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows walks the South White House lawn in Washington, DC, October 30, 2020.
“I have serious concerns about the way my friend Ted is making this effort,” Lee wrote. “This will not benefit the president.”
But Lee still hoped that some states would certify alternative voter lists, making objecting to the results much easier.
“Everything changes, of course, if the swing states present competing voter lists in accordance with state law,” Lee said.
Lee warned Meadows that efforts to get Congress to win over Trump could backfire on the president.
“All I know is that this will end badly for the president unless we have our country’s constitution. And unless those states present new lists of Trump voters in accordance with state law, we do not, “Lee wrote.
The next day, Trump fired a public shot at Lee during a rally in Georgia after Lee said he did not support the opposition to the election results.
“Mike Lee is here, but I’m a little angry with him,” Trump said.
Lee was unhappy that he had been publicly summoned by the president and thrown into Meadows.
“I’ve been doing 14 hours a day for the last week trying to figure this out for him. “Making him shoot me like that in such a public setting without even asking me about it is quite discouraging,” Lee said.
Lee explained that he had called lawmakers in several states in an attempt to devise a way to protect Congress by throwing results in Trump’s favor. In one text, Lee suggests that he is trying to persuade these state lawmakers to come up with a pretext for Congress.
“We need something from the state legislature to make this legitimate and have some hope of victory. “Even if they can’t get together, it may be enough if a majority of them want to sign a statement stating how they will vote,” Lee wrote.
In the end, Lee did not join other Republicans, objecting to the results.
The Tribune turned to Senator Lee’s office for comment.
Lee faces Republicans Becky Edwards and Ali Izom in the June primary as he fights for a third term in Congress.
In a statement to The Tribune, Edwards tore Lee apart for his involvement in the reversal scheme.
“Sen. Mike Lee is examining the repeal of legitimate, democratic elections for party and political gain. “As soon as Lee realizes the gravity of Trump’s attempts to undermine the 2020 election, he should have stopped investigating the legitimacy of such actions and stopped putting pressure on local lawmakers,” Edwards said in a statement. .
“Lee has a duty to defend and defend our constitution and the democratic process, as he swore when he took office. Instead, he allowed the situation to continue and allowed those who seek to stay in power, regardless of the consequences, “Edwards added.
Isom has not replied to any comments.
Independent Senate candidate Evan McMullin also referred to Lee’s text messages, suggesting that Lee had tried to cover up his participation in the election scheme.
Why did Senator Mike Lee advise false legal efforts to cancel the 2020 election? And why did he hide these plans from both the public and the FBI in the days before January 6?
– Evan McMullin) (@EvanMcMullin) April 15, 2022
“Why did Senator Mike Lee advise false legal efforts to cancel the 2020 election?” And why did you hide these plans in the days before January 6? ”McMullin said on Twitter, linking his post to a fundraising appeal.
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correction: 10:51 a.m. April 15: This article has been updated with the correct spelling by Sidney Powell.
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