Topline
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) sent a series of text messages to then- White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the weeks following the 2020 presidential election urging the Trump team to fight to overturn the election, according to CNN, but the two conservative lawmakers shifted to questioning President Donald Trump’s legal strategy before ultimately voting to certify the results.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) questions Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as he testifies before the … [+]
Key Facts
The text messages, which the January 6 committee has possession of, suggest both Lee and Roy were initially supportive of efforts to overturn the election, but became concerned about the lack of evidence.
Lee reportedly texted Meadows on November 7, 2020, to state his “unequivocal support for you to exhaust every legal and constitutional remedy at your disposal to restore Americans faith in our elections.”
Roy sent a text to Meadows that same day, according to CNN, expressing urgency: “We need ammo. We need fraud examples. We need it this weekend.”
The breaking point for the two seemed to come after a November 19, 2020, news conference where then-Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell spouted a series of conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud.
Within hours, Roy reportedly texted Meadows: “Hey brother – we need substance or people are going to break,” while Lee, who had initially pushed to get Powell access to Trump, wrote: “The potential defamation liability for the president is significant here.”
Meadows responded to Lee’s text by saying: “I agree. Very concerned,” according to CNN.
Crucial Quote
“We’re driving a stake in the heart of the federal republic,” Roy reportedly texted Meadows on January 1, 2021. The January 6 committee released that text in December but did not identify Roy as the author.
Key Background
Some 147 Republican lawmakers voted to overturn the election results, but the texts released by CNN suggest there were others in the GOP who had supported the effort but soured after seeing the Trump team’s baseless claims and failed legal strategy. Several recounts affirmed President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, while dozens of legal challenges failed to back up Trump’s claims of widespread fraud. A federal judge last month ruled Trump’s efforts to overturn the election “more likely than not” amounted to felony obstruction, making the remarks as part of a ruling allowing the January 6 committee to review emails from former Trump legal advisor John Eastman.
Tangent
CNN released texts last week suggesting Donald Trump Jr. was formulating strategies for overturning the election before Biden was even declared the winner.
Further Reading
The Republicans who voted to overturn the election (Reuters)
Trump ‘More Likely Than Not’ Illegally Tried To Obstruct Election, Federal Judge Says (Forbes)
Trump Jr. Reportedly Texted Plans To Overturn Results Just After Election Day (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/04/15/texts-reportedly-show-gop-lawmakers-aghast-at-trumps-efforts-to-overturn-election-after-initial-support/