'Come clean': Utah newspaper blasts Mike Lee — demands he speak out about involvement in Trump’s attempted coup

A Utah newspaper is calling out Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and challenging him to "come clean" about his alleged involvement in former President Donald Trump's attempted coup to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

On Tuesday, April 19, The Salt Lake Tribune's editorial board penned an editorial making it clear that it's long overdue for Lee to speak out. In fact, the board also highlighted one event, in particular, that could have been a good time for him to do so. "Yesterday would be a great time for Lee to come clean," the board wrote. "Saturday’s Utah State Republican Convention would be a really good opportunity, too."

The board noted how it's now known that the Republican senator played a key role in supporting the former president's attempted scheme.

"It is past time for Mike Lee to start fessing up to all he knows about the plot to set aside the results of an honest and fair election to keep Donald Trump in power," the editorial board wrote. "We know Utah’s senior senator had a much greater role in that plot than he has previously acknowledged, his constituents deserve a much more detailed accounting of what went on and the extent of Lee’s participation in it."

The House Select Committee has obtained text message records that also add more context to Lee's actions. "The text messages establish that Lee was not being truthful when he said he was only made aware of the plan four days before Jan. 6," the board wote.

It added, "Lee was also trying to give the Trump faction legal advice about what to do and which attorneys to engage to help them do it. Though he quickly came to regret recommending a lawyer who, as Lee said, opened herself and the Trump campaign up to serious accusations of libel by making wild claims of fraud supposedly committed by companies that make voting machine systems."

Regardless of the explanation for Lee's involvement, the board emphasized the most troubling factor: "Whether it was conscience, cowardice or calculation that led Lee to abandon the plot to void the real election results, it is clear that the plan came far too close to succeeding," the board noted.

In conclusion, the board wrote, "It is time Mike Lee told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. To his constituents. To the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 uprising. And to history."