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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Evan McMullin stated on April 1, 2022 in an ad: “Mike Lee advised Trump\'s legal challenges to overturn our election” and “was one of only two senators who was in on the scheme.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" half-true/6479cbc723379f0ee49c269b0b9790b7.jpg.\\") ![\\"half- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * Ad Watch * Jan. 6 * Evan McMullin ![\\"In](\\" In this image from video, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks as the Senate reconvenes after protesters stormed into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP) ![\\"Tom](\\" By Tom Kertscher April 11, 2022 # Attack ad on Sen. Mike Lee advising Trump on 2020 election omits that Lee opposed overturning result #### If Your Time is short * Lee advised Trump’s legal team, but he ultimately broke with Trump, concluding there was no evidence for overturning the result of the 2020 presidential election. See the sources for this fact-check As investigators continue to analyze what led to the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Sen. Mike Lee was hit with an ad over his connection to the insurrection. The Utah Republican, endorsed for re-election by former President Donald Trump, was targeted by his main challenger, independent candidate and former Republican Evan McMullin. \"Senator Mike Lee advised Trump\'s legal challenges to overturn our election,\" the narrator says at the start of McMullin’s 30-second TV ad. \"He was one of only two senators who was in on the scheme, receiving the plan four days before the January 6th insurrection.\" Lee and another Republican senator, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, advised Trump’s legal team in its efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election. But Lee ultimately broke with Trump, concluding there was no evidence for taking the victory away from Joe Biden. How Lee advised Trump On Jan. 6, 2021, then-President Trump held his \"Save America\" rally where he repeated his Pants on Fire claim that he won the 2020 election. Trump invited the crowd to \"walk down to the Capitol\" where the House and Senate were holding a joint session to certify the electoral college vote for Biden. A mob breached the Capitol and shut down Congress for hours. Early Jan. 7, after the attack was quelled, Congress certified Biden’s win. Lee and Graham voted to certify the presidential election results and against objections to certifying the results in Arizona and Pennsylvania. In supporting the election result, Lee said on the Senate floor: \"I’ve met with lawyers on both sides of the issue. I’ve met with lawyers representing the Trump campaign, reading everything I could find about the constitutional provisions in question, and I’ve spent a lot of time on the phone with legislators and other leaders from the contested states…. \"I spent an enormous amount of time reaching out to state government officials in those states, but in none of the contested states — no, not even one — did I discover any indication that there was any chance that any state legislature, or secretary of state, or governor, or lieutenant governor, had any intention to alter the slate of electors.\" Details of Lee’s actions have been publicly reported. \"Peril,\" a September 2021 book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward and reporter Robert Costa described how Graham and Lee took the claims of election fraud seriously enough to get briefed on the details, involve their senior staff and call state officials throughout the country. As summarized by the Post, a key document was a memo written about counting electoral votes by conservative legal scholar John Eastman, who is referenced in the ad. Lee received an Eastman memo from the White House that said Vice President Mike Pence could ignore seven states that had submitted dueling slates of electors to Congress, split between Trump and Biden, and count only electors from the remaining states, handing the election to Trump. Woodward and Costa reported that Lee knew the alternate 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.\" #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 8, 2024 in a press conference Says his Jan. 6, 2021, speech on the White House Ellipse drew the “same number of people,” as the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • August 9, 2024 Lee said that he made \"phone call after phone call\" to officials in some of the relevant states, such as Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona, saying that no one seemed poised to certify a new slate of electors. \"At that point, I believed that we had reached the end of the process, as indeed we had,\" Lee said during a Jan. 27, 2012 online town hall. A Utah newspaper, the Deseret News, reported more on what Lee said at the town hall. He said that Trump’s inner circle repeatedly told him that state legislatures were acting to decertify or even recertify their slates of electoral votes before Congress convened on Jan. 6. As that date approached, Lee said, \"I became concerned because I wasn’t seeing any of these developments occur but I was continuing to hear this narrative.\" Lee said that after calling governors, attorneys general, secretaries of state and legislative leaders in several states, not one state was willing or inclined to decertify or recertify their electoral votes. UTpolunderground.com, a political news website, also carried an article about Lee’s outreach to state officials and his conclusion that there was no evidence to overturn the election. When we asked Lee’s campaign for comment, a spokesperson referred us to the UTpolunderground.com article. Utah race could help decide Senate control On April 1, the same day McMullin tweeted out his ad, Trump endorsed Lee, calling McMullin \"McMuffin.\" McMullin, a former CIA operative, was a Republican before running as an independent for president in 2016. He made news in February with reports showing he raised more campaign money than Lee in the final quarter of 2021. Democrat Kael Weston, a former State Department official, is campaigning for the Senate seat, but the Utah Democratic Party is being pressured to not field a candidate in hopes of giving McMullin a better shot to defeat Lee, the Deseret News reported. The Utah race could play a role in determining which party controls the Senate, which is now split 50-50. Campaign watchers rate the race as solid or safe Republican. Lee, who was elected in 2010, is also being challenged in Utah’s June 28 primary. The leading Republican challengers are former Utah state lawaker Becky Edwards and communications strategist Ally Isom. Our ruling McMullin claimed in an ad that Lee \"advised Trump\'s legal challenges to overturn our election\" and \"was one of only two senators who was in on the scheme.\" Lee and another GOP senator, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, advised the Trump team’s efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election. But Lee ultimately broke with Trump, concluding there was no evidence for overturning the result. McMullin’s claim is partially accurate but leaves out important details. We rate it Half True. **RELATED:**Evan McMullin ad portraying GOP Utah Sen. Mike Lee as pro-Russia, anti-Ukraine is Mostly False **RELATED:** Fact-checking ads in 2022 federal and state elections **RELATED:**Fact-checks on Jan. 6 **RELATED:**The 2021 Lie of the Year: Lies about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and its significance #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Twitter, Evan McMullin tweet, April 1, 2022 Email, Kelsey Koenen Witt, Evan McMullin campaign communications director, April 8, 2022 Email, Mike Lee campaign spokesperson Matt Lusty, April 11, 2022 KUER.org, \"How Utah’s Members Of Congress Voted On Certifying The Presidential Election,\" Jan. 7, 2021 UTpolunderground.com, \"Decision Point: Senator Lee And Election Certification,\" Feb 12, 2021 YouTube, Sen. Mike Lee remarks, Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Senate, \"Question: On the Objection (Shall the Objection Submitted by the Gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Perry, and the Senator from Missouri, Mr. Hawley, Be Sustained?),\" Jan. 7, 2021 Google Books, pages from the book \"Peril,\" accessed April 8, 2022 FoxNow13.com, \"Independent candidate Evan McMullin unveils first attack ad of Senate campaign,\" March 31, 2022 Washington Post, \"Lindsey Graham and Mike Lee personally vetted Trump’s fraud claims, new book says. They were unpersuaded,\" Sept. 20, 2021 Deseret News, \"What Trump’s inner circle told Utah Sen. Mike Lee in the days before Jan. 6,\" Jan. 28, 2021 Deseret News, \"Why is President Donald Trump ‘angry’ at Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee?\", Jan. 5, 2021 New York Times, \"Here are the Republicans who objected to certifying the election results,\" published Jan. 7, 2021; updated Jan. 8, 2021 Salt Lake Tribune, \"What Sen. Mike Lee told me about Trump’s call the day of the Capitol riot,\" Feb. 10, 2021 Sen. Mike Lee, statement, Dec. 14, 2020 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Tom Kertscher slide 4 to 6 of 15 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 19, 2023 in an Instagram post: A wind turbine must “spin continually for over four years just to replace the energy it took to manufacture it.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 28, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on July 15, 2023 in un video en TikTok: \"Biden elimina ‘tráfico sexual de menores’ como una de las prioridades del Departamento de Justicia de su gobierno”. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • July 25, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 17, 2023 in an Instagram post: \"Florida to ban mRNA vaccines as credible evidence of biological weapons.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 18, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 26, 2023 in a Facebook post: Video suggests Canada wildfires were deliberately set to advance “smart cities” push. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 30, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 26, 2023 in a video: Women vaccinated against COVID-19 face \"unknown side effects that could perpetually go down through the lineage\" to their children. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 29, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 25, 2023 in a Facebook post: As of Aug. 25, \"Luis Rubiales has resigned as the president of the Spanish Football Federation.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 29, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 24, 2023 in an Instagram post: The World Health Organization said there is \"a possible causal relationship\" between COVID-19 vaccines and multiple sclerosis. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 28, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 9, 2023 in a Facebook post: Video shows military planes over Nashville \"dispersing materials into the atmosphere\" for geoengineering. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 23, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 20, 2023 in a Facebook post: “Official statement — Putin assassinated in the Kremlin!” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Tom Kertscher • August 22, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 8, 2023 in a Facebook post: \"The federal government has just declared a major food shortage emergency\" in six states. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 16, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Steve Kirsch stated on August 8, 2023 in a blog post: COVID-19 vaccines have killed 676,000 Americans. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Tom Kertscher • August 14, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 6, 2023 in a viral image: California passed a law “reducing penalties for oral, anal sex with willing children.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 9, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on June 22, 2023 in a post: A new law allows people to permanently erase unpaid debt older than two years from their credit records. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 1, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 28, 2023 in a video: “Skin cancer is a relatively new phenomenon in the last 60 years or so.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 1, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on July 26, 2023 in a Facebook post: Says Bill Gates said, “We’re taking things that are genetically modified organisms, and we’re injecting them into little kids’ arms” in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 31, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 19, 2023 in an Instagram post: A wind turbine must “spin continually for over four years just to replace the energy it took to manufacture it.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 28, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on July 15, 2023 in un video en TikTok: \"Biden elimina ‘tráfico sexual de menores’ como una de las prioridades del Departamento de Justicia de su gobierno”. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • July 25, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 17, 2023 in an Instagram post: \"Florida to ban mRNA vaccines as credible evidence of biological weapons.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 18, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 26, 2023 in a Facebook post: Video suggests Canada wildfires were deliberately set to advance “smart cities” push. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 30, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 26, 2023 in a video: Women vaccinated against COVID-19 face \"unknown side effects that could perpetually go down through the lineage\" to their children. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 29, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 25, 2023 in a Facebook post: As of Aug. 25, \"Luis Rubiales has resigned as the president of the Spanish Football Federation.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 29, 2023 ### Attack ad on Sen. Mike Lee advising Trump on 2020 election omits that Lee opposed overturning result * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 5, 2024 in a post: Video shows Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz dancing to Beyoncé in a cowboy hat and crop top. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 6, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 3, 2024 in X posts: A group of 32 armed Venezuelans took over an apartment building in Chicago. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 6, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 2, 2024 in una publicación en Instagram: \"Kamala Harris aboga por censurar X en Estados Unidos al estilo de Brasil si es elegida presidenta en noviembre”. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 6, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on August 28, 2024 in an ad: Project 2025 would defund K-12 schools. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 6, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 4, 2024 in an Instagram post: “The entire family of Kamala Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz—they are all supporting Donald Trump.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 6, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Josh Stein stated on September 5, 2024 in a press release: “Mark Robinson skips Board of Education vote on teacher bonuses to hold campaign event.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Paul Specht • September 6, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 4, 2024 in an Instagram post: An image shows the social media profile of the accused suspect in the Apalachee High School shooting. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 5, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 31, 2024 in a post: McDonald’s “said they have no record whatsoever of Kamala Harris ever working at any of their locations.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 5, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 4, 2024 in an X post: “BREAKING: Apalachee High School shooter has been identified as non-binary trans girl Samantha Hyde.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 5, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 3, 2024 in an Instagram post: “Kamala Harris said she will shut down X if elected.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 5, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. 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Mike Lee advised Trump's legal challenges to overturn our election and was one of only two senators who was in on the scheme