On Tuesday, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) was interviewed by Fox News about his thoughts following the release of the Durham report that established that the FBI had no legitimate evidentiary basis to conduct an investigation into Trump's 2016 campaign. The Beehive State Republican in that interview called for "major consequences" on those responsible for the illegitimate investigation in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice.

Senator Lee began the interview by noting that both the Horwitz report, which also found numerous problems in the probe into Trump, and the Durham report "are both damning." "This one [Durham's] makes abundantly clear that this was more than just garden variety misconduct or sloppiness," said the senator. He further commented that "it shows that the nation's premier law enforcement agency was able to take political motivations and weaponize them...is not just an affront to the Constitution but its a threat to the very concept of popular sovereignty- the idea that our government is of the people, by the people, and for the people." After using that famous Lincolnian phrase, he then called for consequences for the bureau's actions.

BILL BARR SAY FBI INVESTIGATION INTO TRUMP WAS AN 'ABOMINATION' AS TED CRUZ, MIKE LEE, AND MATT GAETZ DEMAND SWIFT ACTION - 'FBI WAS INVOLVED IN A CRIMINAL EFFORT'

 
When pressed on what the nature of the consequences will be, he responded, "For one I continue to wonder why we have agreed to fund $500 million for a new FBI headquarters. I continue to wonder why we need a major restructuring at the FBI and a complete decentralization of law enforcement power within the federal government. Because we have seen that these are the consequences and these are consequences that our country cannot endure." In effect, the Utah lawmaker was calling for cuts in the FBI budget and a complete decentralization of its powers as a consequence of its weaponization. 

The Republican was then asked why those who worked underneath the senior officials who drove this investigation into Trump did not object or blow the whistle. Senator Lee replied that "people under them didn't say that...and people over them didn't say it either- which is why I think we need to have a major overhaul and restructuring of this system that is in place."

During the course of the interview, the Utah Senator observed that "the Founding Fathers made a wise choice by not putting the power to run elections in the hands of the federal government...but whereas here you have a massive behemoth of a federal law enforcement agency that can affect those. We see that too imperils the structure of the Constitution which is why we need a major overhaul." 

Lee also quipped that he'd "take a few mean tweets any day in order to not have an FBI that made corrupt decisions like this." Mike Lee also took to social media to detail in a Twitter thread how the "basic safeguards of government failed" and how "[t]he politicization of the FBI represents a clear and present danger to our democratic principles, and it is imperative that we address this issue with the urgency it demands."
 

🧵 1. The politicization of the FBI represents a clear and present danger to our democratic principles, and it is imperative that we address this issue with the urgency it demands.

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) May 15, 2023

The senator additionally noted that "The erosion of trust in the FBI is not a matter to be taken lightly - it is a crisis that requires immediate and decisive intervention....Thus, it falls to the United States Congress to step in where the FBI has faltered. The need for comprehensive legislative reform is clear, starting with the secret surveillance of Americans under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)...he machinery of the state was used to falsify a FISA warrant against an American citizen justifying it with information they didn’t — and never were able to — corroborate. There wasn’t even a hint of truth here."
 

6. The machinery of the state was used to falsify a FISA warrant against an American citizen justifying it with information they didn’t — and never were able to — corroborate. There wasn’t even a hint of truth here.

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) May 15, 2023

Let us pray that such action is taken and the scourge of weaponization is defeated utterly and peacefully.