Donald Trump will do anything to avoid admitting that he lost the 2020 election, especially while supporters are sending legal fund support money into his political action committee, which are funds he can use as he pleases without telling his supporters he did so. Trump’s recent conversations with White House officials are beginning to worry them as he increasingly comes up with more and more insane attempts to disenfranchise the American electorate.
NEW: Senior Trump administration officials are increasingly alarmed that President Trump might unleash — and abuse — the power of government in an effort to overturn the clear result of the election. https://t.co/rYJhRw7MKx
— Axios (@axios) December 19, 2020
Officials speaking under the condition of anonymity told Axios that Trump has been seriously considering advice from former national security advisor Michael Flynn, a convicted felon who Trump recently pardoned. Flynn has called publicly for the declaration of martial law and the use of the military to force states to give the election to Trump.
According to Axios:
‘Their fears include Trump’s interest in former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s wild talk of martial law; an idea floated of an executive order to commandeer voting machines; and the specter of Sidney Powell, the conspiracy-spewing election lawyer, obtaining governmental power and a top-level security clearance.’
Here's Michael Flynn on Newsmax saying that Trump could order "military capabilities" to swing states and "rerun an election in each of those states."
"People out there talk about martial law like it's something that we've never done. Martial law has been instituted 64 times." pic.twitter.com/KNmiAGGiPF
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 18, 2020
Some blame the company that Trump is keeping for some of his more radical ideas, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who serves as Trump’s legal counsel for television, and Sydney Powell, an attorney who was ousted from the president’s legal team for being far too radical for a group of radical right-wing sycophants.
‘A senior administration official said that when Trump is “retweeting threats of putting politicians in jail, and spends his time talking to conspiracy nuts who openly say declaring martial law is no big deal, it’s impossible not to start getting anxious about how this ends…People who are concerned and nervous aren’t the weak-kneed bureaucrats that we loathe,” the official added. “These are people who have endured arguably more insanity and mayhem than any administration officials in history.”
Anticipating #DominionVotingSystems may take legal action against #SidnutPowell for her claims against Dominion,Trump lawyers tell staff to preserve "any & all records concerning Defending the Republic, Sydney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Esq. CODE FOR #BURNEVERYTHING!
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) December 19, 2020
In addition to declaring martial law, Trump has considered a host of other options, one of which included confiscating voting machines to prove they counted votes fraudulently and switched his name on ballots to Joe Biden’s.
‘The ideas included commandeering voting machines, with Powell as a special counsel to inspect the machines, according to a source familiar with the meeting. White House counsel Pat Cipollone and chief of staff Mark Meadows “pushed back strenuously and repeatedly against the ideas put forth by Sidney Powell,” the source said. The meeting included Flynn, who was pardoned by Trump in November and is a celebrity with election-denying Trump supporters.’
In which Rudy Giuliani is a voice of reason, because he’s only pushing to have the Department of Homeland Security join Trump’s efforts to overturn his election loss.
Where’s the Christmas gin?https://t.co/XkJFn5Ls8i— Dan Barry (@DanBarryNYT) December 19, 2020