In texts, GOP Sen. Mike Lee strategized with top Trump aide Mark Meadows on overturning 2020 election

A new report reveals text messages between Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows in which the pair discussed how to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

CNN published the text messages Friday, which include Lee suggesting that if enough state legislatures were to nullify the results, then-President Donald Trump could defeat Joe Biden in the Electoral College.

“If a very small handful of states were to have their legislatures appoint alternative slates of delegates, there could be a path,” Lee wrote on Dec. 8, 2020.

“I am working on that as of yesterday,” Meadows replied.

Since the 2020 election, Trump and his allies have pushed the baseless claim that the presidency was stolen from him, a belief that is now shared by a large number of Republicans. A Yahoo News/YouGov poll released in January found that a vast majority of Trump voters (75%) believe the election was “rigged and stolen,” while just 9% think Biden “won fair and square.”

Lee began offering his services to the White House on Nov. 7, 2020, the day the election was officially called for Biden, writing that the administration had “unequivocal support for you to exhaust every legal and constitutional remedy at your disposal to restore Americans faith in our elections. This fight is about much more than just this election. This fight is about the fundamental fairness and integrity of our election system. The nation is depending upon your continued resolve.”

The same day, Lee tried to get Sidney Powell, a member of Trump’s legal team who has pushed a number of conspiracy theories, access to the president, writing that Powell said “she needs to get in to see the president, but she’s being kept away from him. Apparently she has a strategy to keep things alive and put several states back in play. Can you help her get in?”

But on Nov. 19, Lee expressed concern about Powell’s tactics.

“I’m worried about the Powell press conference,” he texted Meadows in a series of messages. “The potential defamation liability for the president is significant here. For the campaign and for the president personally. Unless Powell can back up everything she said, which I kind of doubt she can.”

“I agree. Very concerned,” Meadows replied.

“Unless Powell can immediately substantiate what she said today, the president should probably disassociate himself and refute any claims that can’t be substantiated,” Lee wrote.

The two men were referring to an event at the Republican National Committee headquarters featuring Powell and Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor turned Trump lawyer. At the event, Trump allies made a number of false and inflammatory claims about the election, specifically against voting machine manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems.

“What we are really dealing with here, and uncovering more by the day, is the massive influence of communist money through Venezuela, Cuba and likely China and the interference with our elections here in the United States,” Powell said.

She also stated that the U.S. had seized an election server in Germany, a false claim that spread on right-wing social media, as well as stating that the Dominion Voting Systems organization was created under the direction of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who died in 2013.

“China also has a substantial presence in Venezuela and substantial interest in making sure that President Trump does not continue in office,” Powell said.

Two months later, Dominion filed a defamation lawsuit against Powell, seeking at least $1.3 billion and citing her “wild accusations.”

Lee continued to seek guidance from Meadows, writing on Nov. 20, “Please give me something to work with. I just need to know what I should be saying.”

“Please tell me what I should be saying,” Lee wrote on Nov. 22. “There are a few of us in the Senate who want to be helpful (although I sense that number might be dwindling).”

Lee began to express doubt in early 2021 about efforts to overturn the election. “I have grave concerns with the way my friend Ted is going about this effort,” he wrote in an apparent reference to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who helped lead the effort to overturn the results in the Senate. Lee added that he thought “this could all backfire badly.”

On Jan. 4, two days before rioters stormed the Capitol building following a Trump rally, Lee and Meadows tried to work out some miscommunication between Lee and the president.

“Apparently, he was told that you came out with a letter against the electoral objections,” Meadows said of Trump, who had announced at a rally in Georgia earlier in the day he was “a little angry” with Lee. Lee was present at the remarks.

“I told him that you were being very helpful. Bad intel,” Meadows assured the senator.

“I’ve been spending 14 hours a day for the last week trying to unravel this for him,” Lee said. “To have him take a shot at me like that in such a public setting without even asking me about it is pretty discouraging.”

In the same report, CNN also published texts between Meadows and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. On the day Biden was announced as the winner, Roy said, “We need ammo. We need fraud examples. We need it this weekend.”

Roy later began to express doubt about the plan, writing on Dec. 31, “The President should call everyone off. It’s the only path. If we substitute the will of states through electors with a vote by Congress every 4 years… we have destroyed the electoral college… Respectfully.”

“If POTUS allows this to occur… we’re driving a stake in the heart of the federal republic,” he wrote the following day as Trump continued to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence and Congress to attempt to overturn the election results.

On Jan. 6, as Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, Roy wrote, “This is a sh*tshow. Fix this now.”

“We are,” Meadows replied.