SALT LAKE CITY — A soon-to-be released book detailing the aftermath of the 2020 election claims Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) investigated a scenario in which Vice President Mike Pence could declare former President Donald Trump the winner.
Citing the Washington Post, the Salt Lake Tribune reports "Peril," the upcoming book from Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, claims Lee read a confidential memo outlining how Pence could "give the election to Trump because a handful of states Joe Biden won had submitted dueling slates of electors to Congress."
According to the book, Pence would be able to ignore those states and simply award Trump a second term in office. The Tribune cites the Post report, saying Lee made “phone call after phone call” to officials, but voted to certify Biden's victory after the states in question were not going to certify alternate electors.
The Washington Post reports "Lee knew dueling electors were merely Trump loyalists putting themselves forward in certain states, in a move the authors describe as 'a social media campaign — an amateur push with no legal standing.'"
Lee also reportedly claimed the limited role given to Congress and the vice president in counting electoral votes by the Constitution.
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) allegedly joined Lee in investigating whether Pence had the power to just name Trump the winner of the 2020 election. The book says Graham determined the scenario forwarded to the senators was "suitable for third grade."
