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'Much Ado About Nothing': House Managers Strike Claim About GOP Senator From Record

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks during Supreme Court Justice nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
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Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks during Supreme Court Justice nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.

As Wednesday's proceedings came to a close, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah grew upset at Democrats' use of quotes Lee said were wrongly attributed to him.

Impeachment manager David Cicilline said former President Trump had called Lee during the Jan. 6 insurrection, meaning to reach Sen. Tommy Tuberville. Managers said they based their comments on press reports. Cicilline didn't say what his source was but some media outlets, including CNN, reported that Trump asked Tuberville to make additional objections to the certification process on the call.

Lee appeared visibly upset when moving to have the quotes about him withdrawn.

"Statements were attributed to me repeatedly, as to which I have personal knowledge because I am the source. They are not true. I never made those statements, I ask that they be stricken," Lee said of the remarks.

The matter was resolved fairly quickly, with House Rep. Jamie Raskin saying he would withdraw the remarks.

"This is much ado about nothing because it's not critical in any way to our case," Raskin said.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Alana Wise is a politics reporter on the Washington desk at NPR.

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