While Mike Lee opposes Trump’s impeachment, he suggests censoring a liberal congresswoman

While Utah Senator Mike Lee opposes former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment, he calls for censorship by Liberal MP Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for tweeting that Texas Senator Ted Cruz tried to “kill me” by helping to irritate protesters who invaded the Capitol.

“It has come to my attention that MP Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent a tweet a few hours ago in which she accused one of our colleagues – twice – of attempted murder,” wrote Lee, who has been a close ally of Cruz for years.

“I believe that, as a conference, we should immediately and publicly call on her to withdraw her statement and apologize. If she refuses to do it – and maybe even if she doesn’t – I think she should be warned or censored by the House. “

Conn Carroll, Lee’s spokesman, said The Federalist’s report was accurate, but declined to provide the letter or comment further. “Conference communications are generally confidential and we will honor that custom,” he said.

The dispute came after Ocasio-Cortez started a series of tweets where she called audiences to investigate Robinhood’s stock trading app. This occurred when the company temporarily suspended trading in several stock purchases after online users started inflating GameStop’s stock to undermine hedge funds.

Cruz said in a tweet that she agreed to the call – but the congresswoman replied that she did not want his help.

“[Y]You almost murdered me 3 weeks ago, so you can stay out. I am happy to work with almost any other GOP that is not trying to kill me, ”she tweeted.

This was an apparent reference to the January 6 riot and invasion of the United States Capitol. Cruz was among the leaders in an effort to overturn the results of the Electoral College that day. While Trump’s impeachment House on charges that he incited the riot, others also said that members of Congress who tried to overthrow the election share the blame.

Ocasio-Cortez also said to Cruz in his tweet: “[I]If you want to help, you can resign. “

Lee was not the only one calling for action against the New York Congresswoman. Congressman Chip Roy, R-Texas, sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying that if Ocasio-Cortez does not apologize, Republicans will find other ways to condemn his statement.

“If Representative Ocasio-Cortez does not apologize immediately, we will be forced to find alternative ways to condemn this regrettable statement,” wrote Roy. “It is my sincere hope that we will all stop this exaggerated rhetoric and move on to really do the work that the American people sent us here to do.”

While Lee is condemning Ocasio-Cortez for saying Cruz was trying to kill her through actions that may have angered protesters, he opposed a Trump impeachment trial this week on charges that he incited the riot. He did this in a vote on whether the impeachment of a president who has already stepped down is constitutional, and was among the 45 Republicans who voted that it is unconstitutional.

Lee issued a brief statement of explanation after that vote.

“If the Senate adopted a broad interpretation of the power of impeachment – allowing federal officials to be convicted of impeachment charges even after leaving office,” said Lee in a prepared statement, “the outcome would not only be problematic, but also contrary to text, structure and historical understanding of the Constitution. “

Utah Senator Mitt Romney was one of five Republicans to vote that the process is constitutional. It signals that Trump is unlikely to be convicted, because 17 Republicans would need to join all 50 Senate Democrats to obtain the necessary two-thirds majority.