At a recent event that appeared to be a part of the so-called “ReAwaken America” tour, Michael Flynn — the former national security adviser to then-President Trump, who resigned after his lies about contacts with a Russian official came out — said that the United States should have “one religion.” That is obviously a disturbingly dictatorial concept — although it fits right in with other nonsense that observers have recently heard from Flynn and his allies. It’s Flynn who was among those suggesting the imposition of martial law amid Trump’s desperate attempts to stay in power, for instance.
Mark Hertling, a former Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army who served as commanding general of U.S. Army Europe and the 7th Army for a time, joined those starkly criticizing Flynn for his remarks. Referring to Flynn, Hertling bluntly condemned him as follows:
‘This man is an embarrassment to the US Army & an aberration to those of us who have proudly worn the cloth of our country. His words are disgusting.’
This man is an embarrassment to the US Army & an aberration to those of us who have proudly worn the cloth of our country. His words are disgusting. https://t.co/Oi5AQhROeW
— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) November 14, 2021
Flynn seems as though he could still find an audience with ex-President Trump, and he could probably do so with relative ease, too — making his remarks especially troubling. These are the sorts of damaging ideas that are circulating among some of Trump’s most ardent supporters as the 2024 presidential election — and beyond — approaches.
Going forward, Flynn is among those who have now been subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the Capitol riot. A press release from the riot investigation committee regarding his subpoena noted how he “reportedly attended a December 18th, 2020 meeting in the Oval Office during which participants discussed seizing voting machines, declaring a national emergency, invoking certain national security emergency powers, and continuing to spread the false message that the November 2020 election had been tainted by widespread fraud.” The release also noted Flynn’s promotion of the martial law idea.
Flynn said in an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show that he was planning to “respond” to the committee’s demands. He now has an extra push to do so: Steve Bannon — who, like Flynn, was not working for the government at the time of the riot — has been charged with two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the riot investigation panel. Bannon tied his initial refusal to claims by Trump that executive privilege covers what the committee is after. Now, each count of contempt of Congress comes with a minimum of 30 days in jail, if convicted.
