Bryan Schott (follow me on Threads) Profile picture
Unsupervised adult with ADHD. Politics for @SLTrib. News tips: bryanschott@proton.me or 801.205.8387.

Dec 30, 2022, 19 tweets

🚨 1/ New transcripts from the House Jan. 6 committee show the day the 2020 election was called for Joe Biden, Sen. Mike Lee was speaking with campaign lawyer Cleta Mitchell about how to reverse Trump's loss.

She said the alternate elector scheme was "Mike Lee's idea" #utpol

2/ The transcript clearly demonstrates Lee would have joined the objection to certifying Biden's win if states had sent competing slates of electors to Congress on Jan. 6.

Those electors never materialized #utpol

3/ Mitchell was asked about a Nov. 7 text message (the questioner misspoke) from Lee where he asked, "What should I be doing right now?"

"I suspect that the only way to win this election would involve identifying systemic fraud" #utpol

4/ Sometime after Nov. 7, Lee texted Mitchell "I don't think Jared was actually pushing this."

Lee is likely referring to reports that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were pushing Trump to concede the election #utpol

cnn.com/2020/11/08/pol…

5/ On Dec. 7, Lee texts Mitchell about a briefing she held for a group of lawmakers about "problems" in the Georgia election.

She identifies Lee as the organizer of the meeting. When asked if she remembered who else was there, Mitchell only identifies Mo Brooks #utpol`

6/ In that Dec. 7 exchange, Mitchell tells Lee that "the Senate should start making plans to object" to Biden electors in states where the election was fraudulent.

Lee asks how to develop a standard to determine whether the election is "clearly fraudulent" #utpol

7/ In that same Dec. 7 exchange, Mitchell calls the Senate is the "court of last resort."

Lee says the Senate's role is "triggered by the existence of a competing slate of electors" which he says is the "sweet spot" for getting my colleagues to engage" #utpol

8/ Lee was clearly brainstorming ways to convince his colleagues to object to certifying Biden's win on Jan. 6.

Lee believed there had to be competing electors in order to raise an objection, but Mitchell argued that wasn't the case #utpol

9/ Mitchell is asked repeatedly about efforts by the White House to organize competing slates of electors.

She ultimately concedes that the effort was to satisfy objections raised by Sena. Lee and others #utpol

10/ On Dec. 9, Lee texted Mitchell, "Is there any chance we will see competing slates of electors named in some states?"

She tells him to call WH chief of staff Mark Meadows, to which Lee replies, "He's told me yesterday he's working on it" #utpol

11/ 🚨🚨WHOA!

Mitchell is asked about an email exchange with Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, where he asks about the alternate elector scheme.

Mitchell says the whole thing was "actually Mike Lee's idea" #utpol

12/ On Dec. 30, Mitchell asks Sen. Lee if the Senate could conduct a hearing into claims of election fraud in Georgia.

Lee replies, "Let me see what I can arrange."

Mitchell was part of the phone call where Trump pressured Georgia election officials to find 11,780 votes #utpol

13/ 🚨🚨🚨 Lee tells Mitchell Jan. 6 is a "dangerous idea, not just for the Republic itself, but also for the President."

He then says if they could hold a hearing "it might obviate the need for a January 6 strategy" #utpol

14/ What was the "January 6 strategy" Lee referred to?

Mitchell says it was to have Congress reject electors.

Lee claims he was just "investigating rumors" of competing electors. Mitchell's testimony demonstrates Lee was not being truthful #utpol

15/ Later on Dec. 30, Lee asks Mitchell how the plan to object to electors without a competing slate would work.

Mitchell says they never got their day in court. Lee says they'll have to make that argument "formally and publicly," which shows he was entertaining the idea #utpol

16/ The texts show Lee was worried about raising an objection without a competing slate of electors.

"I had somehow thought you and I agreed that we'd need something like a judgment from a court of competent jurisdiction or a decision by a state legislature" #utpol

17/ That text message to Mitchell shows Lee was 100% on board with a plan to object to Biden's win if a court had determined fraud impacted the 2020 election or if states had appointed alternate slates of electors #utpol

18/ Remember, Lee texted Mark Meadows on Jan. 4 saying he had been spending "14 hours a day" calling legislators in several states trying to find a way to object to certifying Biden as the winner on Jan. 6 #utpol

sltrib.com/news/politics/…

19/ Lee claims his vote to certify Biden's win on Jan. 6 exonerates him in the plot to overturn Trump's election loss.

His text messages with Mitchell show he was ready to try and throw out the results, but only stopped when it became clear his plan wouldn't work #utpol

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