Trump: Reports of Martial Law Are More ‘Fake News’

Trump: Reports of Martial Law Are More ‘Fake News’
President Donald Trump waves as he departs on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on Dec. 12, 2020. Al Drago/Getty Images
Jack Phillips
Updated:

President Donald Trump on Sunday morning dismissed reports of an Oval Office meeting between him, Sidney Powell, and retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn where martial law was suggested.

“Martial law = Fake News. Just more knowingly bad reporting!” Trump wrote early Sunday in a tweet.

A Saturday report from The New York Times that cited anonymous sources asserted that Trump held a meeting with Powell, Flynn, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and other advisers. For that information, the NY Times claimed “two people briefed on the discussion” provided its reporters with the information.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for comment.

Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis, who has aided in the president’s election challenges in key states, re-tweeted Trump’s post declaring the NY Times report as “fake news” on Sunday.

In a Dec. 18 Newsmax interview, Flynn suggested that Trump could direct the military to rerun the election in key states, but in that same interview, Flynn—a former director of national intelligence—said he doesn’t favor martial law being imposed, which appears to contradict the NY Times’ reporting.

“He could immediately, on his order, seize every single one of these machines around the country, on his order. He could also order, within the swing states, if he wanted to, he could take military capabilities and he could place them in those states and basically rerun an election in each of those states. It’s not unprecedented,” Flynn told Newsmax.

In the interview, Flynn said he was not advocating for Trump to implement martial law: “We have a constitutional process … that has to be followed.”
Weeks ago, Flynn posted a news release from a group called “We the People Convention” that suggested a limited form of martial law to allow the military to “oversee a new free and fair federal election if Legislators, Courts, and the Congress do not follow the Constitution.”
The Trump campaign and several news organizations were asked by a law firm representing Dominion Voting Systems that they should preserve documents (pdf) pertaining to Powell and the machines. The company called on Powell to retract her claims about the firm, according to a letter that was sent to her last week, and the document request suggests that officials may file a lawsuit.
Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter who covers a range of topics, including politics, U.S., and health news. A father of two, Jack grew up in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
twitter
Related Topics