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President Donald Trump held an impromptu meeting in the Oval Office that evolved into a heated mess over what actions to take against unproven voter fraud. Sources indicate assigning special council and martial law was part of the discussion, as CNN reported on Dec. 19, 2020.
Attendees included recently pardoned former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, fired conspiracy theorist/lawyer Sidney Powell, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, attended via telephone.
Trump brought up Flynn’s interview with Newsmax in which he proposed the president declare martial law in the swing states where Trump was defeated and rerun the election. Flynn mistakenly stated, in the history of the United States, martial law has been instituted 64 times — the actual number is 68.
However, since it is up to the governor — not the president — to declare martial law, it is implausible to use the military or national guard to force a rerun of the general election will take place.
It is unclear if Trump endorses imposing martial law. It is clear; however, the subject was forcefully shot down by others in the meeting.
Another hot topic discussed was whether or not to appoint Powell as a special counsel to oversee an investigation into the supposedly fraudulent election.
Powell is a dangerous person to choose since her conspiracy theories are destructive to the democratic election process. Her assertions have yet to be confirmed as she has no evidence to back up her claims. Several of the affidavits she has presented were all signed by one person whose credibility has been questioned.
She falsely claims Venezuela owns the Dominion Voting Systems and that the machines reassigned deleted 2.7 million Trump votes nationwide and given to Joe Biden instead. Powell wants the machines confiscated and forensically investigated. Each of her assertions has been flatly denied by Dominion — they demand she retract her accusations.
Cipollone, Meadows, and other top Trump aides vehemently opposed these discussions. According to more than one source, the arguing could be heard outside of the Oval Office.
Written by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
The New York Times: Trump Weighed Naming Election Conspiracy Theorist as Special Counsel; by Maggie Haberman and Zolan Kanno-Youngs
CNN: Heated Oval Office meeting included talk of special counsel, martial law as Trump advisers clash; by Kevin Liptak and Pamela Brown
Brennon Center for Justice: Guide to Declarations of Martial Law in the United States
Brennon Center for Justice: Martial Law in the United States: Its Meaning, Its History, and Why the President Can’t Declare It
Legal Information Institute: 18 U.S. Code § 2384.Seditious conspiracy
Featured Image Courtesy of Matt Johnson’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons Licence
Inset Image by Don Teft DAC Courtesy of Picryl – Public Domain License
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