Trump Reportedly Asked Advisors About Deploying Military To Overturn Election
Topline
President Donald Trump reportedly inquired about an idea raised by his former (and now pardoned) national security adviser, Michael Flynn, that the U.S. military be deployed to overturn the results of the presidential election—a claim shot down by his advisors at a meeting where the president appeared to embrace increasingly fringe notions about his election loss.
President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he departs on the South Lawn of the White House, on Dec. … [+]
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Key Facts
New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman reported Saturday that the president asked about Flynn’s idea, as senior officials are reportedly becoming very unsettled by Trump’s escalating interest in crackpot plans during his last days in power.
On Thursday, Flynn said that Trump could deploy the military to swing states he lost to President-elect Joe Biden in order to “rerun” the presidential election.
During the meeting, Trump also floated naming the conspiracy-theorist attorney Sidney Powell—who has pushed a baseless theory that long-dead Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez rigged voting machines—as special counsel to investigate voter fraud.
Axios reported Saturday that even some of Trump’s long-loyal top officials have been dismayed by Trump’s behavior, including his interest in Flynn’s views, with one senior official saying Trump “spends his time talking to conspiracy nuts who openly say declaring martial law is no big deal.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes but Trump tweeted later on Saturday that the reporting on him weighing martial law was “Fake News.”
Crucial Quote
“Within the swing states, if he wanted to, he could take the military capabilities and he could place them in those states and basically rerun an election in each of those states,” Flynn said in a Newsmax appearance Thursday.
Key Background
Trump lost the popular vote to Biden by more than 7 million votes and was defeated in the electoral college by a count of 306-232, yet he has repeatedly and baselessly claimed that he only lost because of widespread election fraud. The fraud claims have become the basis for legal challenges to the election results, which have failed at almost every turn, sometimes getting thrown out by Trump-nominated judges. Flynn’s suggestion comes less than a month after Trump granted Flynn a presidential pardon in a case where Flynn admitted lying to Special Counsel Robert Mueller during his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Tangent
Flynn’s legal case dragged on for years, even after he pleaded guilty to lying about conversations he had with then-Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. In January, Flynn said he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming that he’d been victimized by an FBI “ambush-interview.” The Justice Department would move to have the case dismissed, only to be blocked by District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, who worried the case might have been dropped for political reasons. Flynn then asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to order Sullivan to drop the case, but was rejected. Trump officially pardoned Flynn on Nov. 25.
Surprising Fact
The Trump campaign’s legal team has actually been distancing itself from Powell, given her wild conspiracy theories.
Further Reading
Trump Reportedly Proposed Sidney Powell As Special Counsel To Probe Baseless Fraud Claims (Forbes)
Officials increasingly alarmed about Trump’s power grab (Axios)
These Are The Voter Fraud Claims Trump Tried (And Failed) To Overturn The Election With (Forbes)
Trump-Appointed Judge In Wisconsin Shuts Down Campaign’s Legal Argument For Why Election Was Rigged (Forbes)
Trump Pardons Michael Flynn: Supporters Will Be Thrilled, Critics Appalled (Forbes)
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