Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) on Sunday volunteered to speak with the Jan. 6 Select Committee over text messages he sent to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about overturning the 2020 election.
During an interview on
Fox News Sunday guest host Shannon Bream asked Lee about the criticism he has received for pursuing an alternate slate of electors that would reject the election of Joe Biden.
"First of all, I knew how bad Joe Biden would be as president," Lee said, defending his text messages. "I knew what a disaster he would be in the Oval Office."
"And there was some uncertainty in the wake of the election," he continued. "As we approached the end of December, there were rumors that continued to circulate suggesting that some states were going to be reallocating -- withdrawing and reallocating their electoral votes."
Lee said that he felt a responsibility to ask Meadows about the plan to overturn the election.
"I couldn't get answers," he recalled. "So I reached out to state lawmakers in various states -- not trying to influence anyone, simply trying to find out whether the rumors were true. The rumors weren't true."
Lee said that he eventually voted to certify the results of the 2020 election.
Bream asked Lee if he would be willing to speak to the Jan. 6 Committee about the election.
"Oh, sure," Lee said. "Look, I'd always be willing to talk if they want to talk."
