Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” Thursday, June 9, 2022. C-SPAN.org
Although he acknowledges Joe Biden is the president of the USA, Sen. Mike Lee says a brand new documentary made by allies of Donald Trump raises “vital” questions on what happened within the 2020 election.
The movie “2000 Mules” makes the most recent case the election was stolen, however the group behind it has been assailed even by some on the exhausting proper, The New York Instances reported. The documentary, in response to the Instances, is predicated on arguments that crumble beneath scrutiny.
“I did see the film ‘2000 Mules,’ and that film does elevate vital questions on what may need occurred in that election. I feel these are questions that have to be answered, and I'd like to get the president’s response to it and an evidence for why sure issues occurred,” Lee, R-Utah, mentioned in response to a caller’s query Thursday on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.”
The essential assumption of the documentary, directed by conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza, is that a military of left-wing operatives stuffed drop bins with absentee ballots — a brand new spin on an outdated allegation that voter-fraud activists name “poll trafficking,” in response to the Instances.
It's based mostly partly on an misguided premise: that getting paid to ship different individuals’s ballots is prohibited not simply in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia the place True the Vote centered its analysis and the place third-party supply of ballots shouldn't be allowed normally, however in each state, the Instances’ story mentioned. True the Vote is a Texas-based nonprofit that describes itself as defending election integrity.
The movie additionally claims, however by no means reveals in its footage, that particular person “mules” stuffed drop field after drop field. These claims are purportedly backed up by monitoring cellphone knowledge, however the movie’s strategies of research have been pilloried in quite a few truthchecks, the Instances reported.
The Reuters Truth Examine Group concluded “2000 Mules” doesn't present any concrete, verifiable proof of widespread voter fraud within the 2020 election.
“It’s essential to level on the market’s a distinction between the likelihood that some dishonest could have occurred and whether or not or not he’s the professional president,” Lee mentioned on C-SPAN. “The president of the USA is chosen by the Electoral Faculty. The opening and the counting of the Electoral Faculty votes resulted in a transparent victory for Joe Biden. However that doesn’t imply that issues didn’t occur alongside the way in which.”
Lee exchanged dozens of textual content messages with former White Home chief of employees Mark Meadows over potential paths to maintain Trump in workplace after the 2020 election. Lee informed the Deseret Information in April that the texts don’t sign advocacy for overturning the leads to favor of the previous president and that he wasn’t doing the Trump administration’s bidding in exploring these concepts.
The senator voted to certify the 2020 presidential election.
“President Biden is the President of the USA. He was elected. I used to be there when the electoral votes have been opened and counted,” he mentioned.
Trump, who endorsed Lee for reelection, continues to falsely declare the election was rigged and stolen.
Along with the 2020 election, Lee talked about how Congress would possibly cope with laws prompted by the latest shootings, threats to Supreme Court docket justices outdoors their houses and his new e-book concerning the excessive court docket titled “Saving 9” throughout his look on C-SPAN.
Lee says social media platforms ought to report posts about potential mass shootings, and in the event that they don’t, authorities should power them to take action.
Youthful males particularly generally sign on social media what they wish to do by expressing admiration for killers or a want to have interaction in a mass killing, he mentioned. Typically, he mentioned, they crave consideration or notoriety in understanding they may die or intend to die within the occasion.
“Social media firms must be reporting that and they need to do it voluntarily, and in the event that they received’t, we'll make them,” Lee mentioned Thursday on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.”
The 2-term senator, who faces two Republican challengers in a major election this month, mentioned many legal guidelines are damaged each time there's a mass taking pictures in the USA.
“It's an unwise factor and doubtlessly fraught with peril if when dozens of legal guidelines have been violated we quickly conclude that what is required or what is going to cease it the following time round is one more regulation,” he mentioned. “You don’t wish to punish the law-abiding for crimes of those that are bent on lawless conduct.”
On Wednesday, authorities arrested 26-year-old Nicholas John Roske close to the Maryland house of Supreme Court docket Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Roske carried a gun, ammunition, pepper spray, a knife, a crow bar, zip ties and different instruments that might assist him break right into a home, police mentioned. Kavanaugh and his household have been house on the time of the arrest.
Roske deliberate to kill Kavanaugh as a result of he was upset concerning the leaked Supreme Court docket doc on abortion and the varsity taking pictures in Uvalde, Texas, in response to authorities.
“It’s lucky that they caught him. It’s tragic that he was there,” Lee mentioned.
Lee mentioned there are “actual issues” with displaying up on the house of a Supreme Court docket justice to protest or affect the anticipated consequence of a case. Federal regulation, he mentioned, prohibits protesting outdoors a justice’s home.
“Exhibiting as much as protest on the house of a Supreme Court docket justice is itself a felony offense,” he mentioned. “Doing so with a weapon and gear to interrupt into his house to hold out an execution is simply unthinkably dangerous.”
Lee mentioned he hopes and expects Republicans, Democrats and Biden would condemn these actions.
Assaults on and threats towards Supreme Court docket officers have gone on for too lengthy. @POTUS should instantly implement the legal guidelines, condemn unlawful protesting at justices' houses, and pledge to guard each member of the Court docket from these escalating and harmful threats.
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 8, 2022