Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee said “lock her up” chants regarding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made him “uncomfortable” and urged President Biden to refrain from starting a cycle of political warfare following the guilty verdict. of former President Trump. .
“They could still do the right thing and maybe put the genie back in the bottle,” the Republican told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday.
“There are so many cases of reversible error in this New York conviction that [Manhattan District Attorney Alvin] “Bragg's office and those who are handling this case on appeal could, and I believe, should confess error on appeal and walk away from the whole matter and leave it alone,” he said.
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Republican senators, led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said they will not allow the Senate to function and deliver on Democratic priorities following former President Trump's guilty verdict. (Getty Images)
Last month, a New York jury found Trump guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Lee led several Republican colleagues with a pledge not to follow through with their Democratic counterparts in the Senate after the verdict.
“Strong statements are not enough. Those who turned our judicial system into a political cudgel must be held accountable. We are no longer cooperating with any Democratic legislative priorities or nominations, and we invite all interested senators to join our position,” he announced . At the time.
According to the senator, “as a result of that conviction, we cannot pretend that nothing has happened, pretend that all this is going to continue as always.”
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Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee review hearing on Nov. 30, 2023. (Bill Clark)
“The commitment is an attempt to harness that message,” he explained.
So far, 14 senators have joined him, including National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines, R-Montana, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who is running for Republican leader to succeed the minority leader. outgoing Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
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Former President Trump returns to court moments before hearing that the jury had a verdict in his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York City. (Justin Lane/Pool photo via AP)
“I think we're going to continue to recruit more Republican senators as time goes on,” Lee predicted.
He noted that his Democratic counterparts haven't given him much response or attention: “We'll see how much they feel it as it gains more traction.”
“He's still a minority in the minority conference,” but he hopes that will change.
GOP shores up Michigan effort as Democrats lose incumbent advantage in Senate
Tester is in one of the most competitive races in the country. (Drew Angerer)
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The Utah senator further suggested, “Jon Tester has to feel it. Sherrod Brown has to feel it,” referencing the pressure to reject Trump's guilty verdict. The two senators are part of a group of several Democratic incumbents facing competitive challenges in their re-election bids.
Lee also rejected the idea that pledging not to allow any increase in non-security funding, as well as any money intended to fund “partisan legal warfare,” would trigger a government shutdown.
“There's nothing in this that necessarily makes a shutdown more likely than it would otherwise be,” he said, noting that he expects a stopgap funding bill to be necessary when current appropriations bills run out in September.
The White House did not provide comment to Fox News Digital for the purposes of this story.
