Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is the more Donald Trump-like of the two senators in the state, the other being Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. But it's Lee who is up for reelection this year against former Republican Evan McMullin, who previously ran for president in Utah to try and deny Trump the electoral votes in 2016.
Behind the scenes, however, Lee has been using an unofficial Twitter account that has gone unnoticed by the public, but appears to have been promoted by some far-right activists. The Star Tribune outed the senator with details on some of his more catty tweets.
I’m taller than @RandPaul.
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 24, 2022
It was something noticed after Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort was searched by the FBI for classified information. Lee's social media accounts were dead silent. Noting that it's rare for a politician to be quiet about anything unless they're pleading their Fifth Amendment rights, reporters started searching.
"Lee's personal Facebook page links to a Twitter thread from a Twitter account — 'Based Mike Lee' — that was created in July," the report said. "The account, full of attempted snark and sarcasm, at one point had a profile picture of a young Mike Lee with digital sunglasses superimposed on his face — a reference to the 'Deal with it' meme that was popular in the early 2010s. A source close to Lee says the account is Lee's personal Twitter which he manages by himself."
So, it appears Lee has made a statement about the search warrant, through his private Twitter account. He asked if the attorney general personally approved the search warrant and then rants about Hillary Clinton, protests at the homes of the Supreme Court justices and Hunter Biden.
In a fundraising email sent by Lee's reelection campaign, he uses a lot of the same language that appeared in the Twitter thread and calls on his followers to "Hold Merrick Garland Accountable" with a photo of Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). About 12 hours after the email was sent, the photo was changed to Merrick Garland. The page doesn't allow users to hold Garland accountable, it simply serves as a way for Lee to get email addresses so he can raise money.
Other tweets from the Based Mike Lee account appear to promote himself in unique verbiage.
The haters can’t handle this frickin’ smoke
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 24, 2022
Another pokes at his opponent, who asked about Lee's coordination with Trump during the attempt to overthrow the 2020 election.
I’m feeling great, thanks. I’d be worried if I had celebrated what could turn out to be a breathtaking abuse of power by the FBI for political purposes. https://t.co/pB7ofIWU3n
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) August 9, 2022
