In my featured post today I mentioned the reports that Trump spent Friday night spitballing the various paths to a coup. Here’s more on that:
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.
These officials tell me that Trump is spending too much time with people they consider crackpots or conspiracy theorists and flirting with blatant abuses of power.
There are 32 days until President-elect Biden’s inauguration.
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.
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.”
Jonathan Swan added this on his twitter feed:
They’re just getting worried now?
Here is Maggie Haberman’s twitter thread which hits all the highlights of her New York Times story:
SCOOP – Sidney Powell was in Oval Office last night as POTUS discussed making her special counsel for election fraud. @KannoYoungs and me
Among those pushing back on the idea was Pat Cipollone, Meadows and even Giuliani. But Giuliani separately pushed DHS this week to seize control of voting machines to examine them for possible fraud. DHS said it has no authority to do that.
The meeting got raucous, with various administration members drifting in and out and different people arguing. Powell told others they were quitters, people people briefed on the meeting
The fact of the meeting – and Giuliani hope of seizing the voting machines – has alarmed some of the president’s advisers, who see his desire to take his refusal to accept the election results as in a dangerous new place
Meadows and Cipollone strenuously and repeatedly objected to these suggestions, saying there was no constitutional basis, according to the people briefed.
One person floated an executive order to seize the voting machines. That was also shot down by Cipollone, per the people briefed.
Adding to the story but two people briefed said Flynn was there as well for this meeting.
During the meeting, the president asked about Flynn’s suggestion of deploying the military, those briefed said. That was also shot down.
MORE – POTUS asked about possibility of Powell being given security clearances to pursue her theories, per people briefed on the meeting.
In the president’s mind, “special counsel” is what DoJ made happen with Mueller, but what was being discussed was Powell working inside the White House – and Trump came very close to hiring her, per multiple people briefed.
Originally tweeted by Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) on December 19, 2020.
I realize that much of what Trump does is nothing more than a grift. And maybe this is just another one of his ploys to keep the rubes sending their social security checks to his “Stop the Steal” con. It’s certainly possible.
It’s also possible that he’s very, very stupid and very, very psychologically damaged and he simply cannot accept this monumental loss. The first is bad, the second is kind of terrifying. He’s still the president of the most powerful nation on earth.
Our annual Hullabaloo fundraiser continues. If you’d care to participate you can do so below. And Happy Hollandaise everyone!