Trump's reported martial law musings have even some conservatives alarmed

Tim O'Donnell

"In this instance, all that is preserving the Constitution is the military's fidelity to the rule of law," Max Boot writes in The Washington Post in reference to reports that President Trump has at least discussed the possibility of declaring martial law and seizing voting machines with his former national security adviser Michael Flynn and controversial attorney Sidney Powell in hopes of overturning the presidential election results.

Boot, who considered himself a conservative pre-Trump, acknowledged neither scenario is likely to be realized, but he argues simply talking about the ideas marks a "new low" for Trump. "Never before the in U.S. history has there been a record of a president discussing a military coup to stay in office," he wrote.

Even The Washington Examiner's Byron York, who has written books such as Obsession: Inside the Washington Establishment's Never Ending War on Trump and The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy, called the recently pardoned Flynn's ideas "dangerous" and suggested that positing them on national television, as he did on Newsmax last week, is significant.

Like Boot, York indicates the risk of Trump actually declaring martial law is low — Trump, he wrote in the Examiner, has "shown repeatedly that his talk is just talk" — but "what about the idea that there are some things one just doesn't talk about?"

Meanwhile, Tim Miller, an outspoken Republican Trump critic, thinks it's better if Congress is proactive rather than waiting around to see if it's all bluster. Read more at The Washington Post and The Washington Examiner.

More stories from theweek.com
Democrats wanted a tax credit for low income families. Republicans wanted a tax break for '3 martini lunches.'
Are the worst days of the Trump presidency still ahead?
Biden receives COVID-19 vaccine on TV: 'There's nothing to worry about'

Latest Stories

  • Ivanka Trump campaigns in Georgia, but makes no mention of her father's election fraud claims

    Ivanka Trump campaigned in Georgia on Monday for Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, but didn't mention her father's claims that election fraud had cost him victory in the state.

  • The US Navy appears to be sending Iran a message with a submarine packed with missiles

    Monday's statement marks the first time since 2012 the Navy has announced the presence of a guided-missile submarine in the Persian Gulf.

  • Trump administration officials subpoenaed in probe into alleged 'extensive and dangerous' political interference at CDC

    Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and CDC Director Robert Redfield have both been subpoenaed by a House subcommittee probing allegations of political interference at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis on Monday subpoenaed Azar and Redfield for previously-requested documents, which committee chair Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said was "necessary because the Select Subcommittee's investigation has revealed that efforts to interfere with scientific work at CDC were far more extensive and dangerous than previously known," The Wall Street Journal reports.Earlier this month, Clyburn said that a CDC official, Dr. Charlotte Kent, alleged to investigators that Redfield ordered the deletion of an email showing a Trump administration appointee was trying to interfere with a scientific report amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Axios reports. And on Monday, Clyburn said that the subcommittee has obtained documents showing "Trump administration appointees attempted to alter or block at least 13 scientific reports related to" COVID-19 over a "period of four months."A spokesperson for HHS previously objected to the "subcommittee's characterization of the conversation with Dr. Kent," calling it "irresponsible," per the Journal. Clyburn said the subpoena requires Redfield and Azar to produce the requested documents by Dec. 30.More stories from theweek.com Democrats wanted a tax credit for low income families. Republicans wanted a tax break for '3 martini lunches.' Are the worst days of the Trump presidency still ahead? Biden receives COVID-19 vaccine on TV: 'There's nothing to worry about'

  • McCarthy Calls on FBI to Brief Full Intel Committee on Swalwell’s Ties to Alleged Chinese Spy

    House Leader Kevin McCarthy said Sunday that all members of the House Intelligence Committee should receive a classified FBI briefing on Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell’s relationship with a suspected Chinese spy.McCarthy received a closed-door FBI briefing on Swalwell's close ties to Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, on Friday and said afterwards that he thinks Swalwell should not be on the House Intelligence Committee."I’m going to request that every single member on the House Intelligence Committee gets the exact same briefing from the FBI that I did," McCarthy said Sunday on Fox News. "Because if this individual is sitting on this committee — Eric Swalwell — they’ve got to know the background of what has gone on. I can’t talk about the classified part, but you know what’s out there in the press.”“No one that was in that room could walk out and say Eric Swalwell should be on the intel committee," McCarthy said of the briefing. "I don’t know — they had a briefing before in 2015 and I don’t know what that briefing was like compared to this one, but it could not have been the same.”Between 2011 and 2015, Fang developed close relationships with Swalwell, bundling donations for the up and coming lawmaker and even placing an intern in his office.Since Swalwell's ties to Fang came to light earlier this month, Republicans on the intelligence committee have demanded answers, some even calling for an investigation and for him to be immediately removed from the committee in order to deprive him of the access to classified information that comes with membership on the high-profile panel.Fang, believed to have been acting at the behest of China’s Ministry of State Security, helped fundraise for Swalwell’s 2014 re-election campaign and helped place at least one intern in the California Democrat’s office.Fang also had romantic or sexual relationships with at least two Midwestern mayors over a three-year period. Swalwell, who married shortly afterwards in 2016, declined this week to answer questions about whether his relationship with Fang was sexual or romantic in nature.In 2015, federal investigators briefed Swalwell on their concerns about Fang, at which point he says he severed all his ties with her. However, Swalwell’s brother and father remained connected with Fang on Facebook.Swalwell said Tuesday that he has committed no wrongdoing and expressed confidence that the controversy will not threaten his seat on the House Intelligence Committee.“The one answer that I got out of that briefing was there is no way Eric Swalwell should continue to serve on the intel committee,” McCarthy added, noting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would have to remove Swalwell from the committee if he refuses to step down.

  • ‘We were complicit’: Lawyer who worked for Trump administration pens op ed apologising to US

    ‘We owe the country our honesty’, says ex DOJ lawyer

  • Handcuffed man shoots officer 3 times with hidden gun, flees

    A handcuffed man fired a gun police didn't know he had out of a police vehicle hitting an officer three times before fleeing from a western Pennsylvania police station, police said. Koby Lee Francis, 22, of McKeesport, had been arrested after allegedly violating a protection from abuse order before Sunday afternoon's gunfire outside the McKeesport police station, Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman McDonough said Monday. McKeesport is located near Pittsburgh.

  • Michelin-starred restaurant where Gov. Newsom dined during COVID-19 surge got over $2.4 million in PPP loans

    The French Laundry, a high-end restaurant in Napa Valley, received 17 times as much in PPP loans as the average Bay Area restaurant, ABC7 reports.

  • 5 surprising things tucked into Congress' nearly 6,000-page spending bill

    The most significant aspect of Congress' omnibus spending bill is the $900 coronavirus relief package embedded within it, but there are a few surprising add-ons -- as there usually are in such legislation -- tucked into the nearly 6,000-paged text.One item that snuck in there was the proposed creation of two new Smithsonian museums, one focused on women's history, and the other for the proposed "National Museum of the American Latino." Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) had previously blocked standalone bills that would have funded them.> Tucked into the stimulus bill: two new Smithsonian museums pic.twitter.com/vVwVkcXZIR> > -- Aman Batheja (@amanbatheja) December 21, 2020The package also contains proposed legislation that would change how drugs are regulated in horseracing, a murder hornet eradication program, and a continued ban on federal funding for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, an organization that hasn't existed for years. That language has apparently appeared quite frequently in bills over the last few years, and some Republican lawmakers reportedly think it may just keep getting copy-and-pasted by aides.The sovereignty of Tibet, Taiwan, and Hong Kong also received frequent mention, which, in other words, means the bill includes language hinting at opposition to potential Chinese encroachment on those places. One item that's been garnering a lot of attention concerns the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Several observers pointed out that while that may seem unnecessary or even silly at first glance, especially because it seems out of place in a bill primarily focused on pandemic relief, it actually addresses a significant geopolitical issue. > This is what the Dalai Lama thing is about. https://t.co/4OeRl3VzhR> > -- Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) December 21, 2020> We can argue whether this language belongs in this bill, but it's not just that Congress decided to regulate reincarnation on top of everything else.> > -- Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) December 21, 2020More stories from theweek.com Democrats wanted a tax credit for low income families. Republicans wanted a tax break for '3 martini lunches.' Are the worst days of the Trump presidency still ahead? Biden receives COVID-19 vaccine on TV: 'There's nothing to worry about'

  • China starts work on plant for mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate - media

    China has begun work on a facility to manufacture its first COVID-19 vaccine candidate that uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, even though the candidate is still in early-stage clinical trials, state-backed media reported on Monday. The mRNA technology contains instructions for human cells to make proteins that mimic part of the coronavirus, and is used in vaccines from Moderna Inc as well as from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE. Both those vaccines have obtained efficacy data from late-stage, large-scale trials and emergency-use approval from the United States.

  • ‘Plenty of perjury’: MAGA lawyer files Georgia elections lawsuit with glaring typo

    The Trump campaign and its allies have filed numerous error-filled suits challenging election results across the country

  • Family of U.S. teen jailed in Cayman Islands asks Trump for help

    Skylar Mack was sentenced to prison in the Cayman Islands for breaking Covid isolation protocols. Her family has appealed to the U.S. government for help.

  • Pope snubs Vatican's sci-fi Nativity scene and directs visitors to others

    Pope Francis on Sunday appeared to add his snub to widespread criticism of an unorthodox Nativity scene in St. Peter's Square, telling visitors to visit a nearby exhibition of traditional crèches instead.

  • 35 Outdoor Fire Pit Ideas That Are Lit

    Extend the outdoor season and get ready to smell the campfireOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • 25 Indian farmers die during protests as Modi visits temple in sop to angry Sikh farmers

    At least 25 Indian farmers have died during protests against controversial legislation, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempted to diffuse growing tensions by making a surprise visit to a Sikh temple in New Delhi on Sunday. Fourteen deaths have been attributed to exposure to the cold, as approximately 500,000 farmers - most of whom are Sikh - continue to sleep in their tractors and blockade roads outside Delhi, despite temperatures dropping to 3°C at night. Ten death occurred in road accidents as farmers travelled to Delhi from the surrounding states of Punjab and Haryana, while an eminent Sikh priest from Haryana shot himself in protest at the new legislation. The farmers say they will continue to occupy the streets, causing ongoing disruption to food supplies in India’s capital, until the proposed farm bills are repealed. On Monday, the protesting farmers are undergoing a day-long hunger strike, while union leaders announced plans to occupy toll booths surrounding Delhi from December 25.

  • 5 Army Weapons Soldiers Might Actually Get Their Hands on Soon

    Army modernization officials have tested new, longer-range and more precise infantry weapon systems.

  • Nepal PM's 'constitutional coup' challenged in court

    Opponents of Nepal's prime minister turned to the Supreme Court on Monday to challenge his dissolution of parliament and the calling of an election, denouncing it as a "constitutional coup". Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli's dissolution of parliament on Sunday raises the prospect of months of political turmoil in the Himalayan country as it battles the novel coronavirus. Supreme Court Spokesman Bhadrakali Pokharel said three petitions against the dissolution were "in the process of being registered".

  • Anger as Republican lawmakers who played down pandemic jump vaccine queue

    Members of Congress have been publicly receiving shot to build confidence among Americans

  • Italian woman mauled to death by five pet Czechoslovakian wolfdogs

    An Italian woman has been mauled to death by her five pet Czechoslovakian wolfdogs, prompting a debate over the danger posed by the increasingly popular crossbreed canine. Mariangela Zaffino, a 74-year-old pensioner, was attacked by her five pet dogs in her apartment in the town of Grugliasco near Turin. She was found by her daughter, who said the dogs, a cross between wild wolves and German shepherd dogs that shares many wolfish characteristics, had never shown any signs of being dangerous in the past. Neighbours, however, have questioned the wisdom of Mrs Zaffino and her daughter keeping five large dogs in a small flat. Police are trying to ascertain what may have prompted the dogs, named Ares, Aylen, Artù, Aragorn and Apache, to attack their owner.

  • New Jersey Nursing Homes Won’t Receive COVID Vaccine This Week Due to Missed Deadline

    Nursing home residents in New Jersey will not receive the coronavirus vaccine on Monday after state officials missed the federal deadline by one day. “In order to start on the 21st there was a deadline of the 7th … we missed that date by a day,” Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said at a press conference Friday.“We asked to start on the 21st and they said, ‘No, you’ll start on the 28th.’ It was as simple as that,” Persichilli said.The health commissioner said the “sheer volume of information that had to be inputted” for the more than 600 long-term care facilities, skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities caused the state to miss the deadline.Governor Phil Murphy said the vaccine will be administered by CVS and Walgreens through a federal partnership, according to NJ.com.“We will start at our veterans’ homes and skilled nursing facilities, and move to assisted living residences, among other long-term congregate settings,” Murphy said.The news comes after the state announced last week it will be receiving 20 percent fewer doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines through year’s end. Though it had been promised 492,075 doses of the vaccines this month, it will get only 392,800, according to Persichilli.COVID-19 has ravaged nursing homes in New Jersey and the greater tri-state area. More than 11,000 nursing home residents in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut have died from the coronavirus, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

  • Japan sets record $52 billion military budget with stealth jets, long-range missiles

    Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government approved a ninth consecutive rise in military spending on Monday, funding the development of an advanced stealth fighter and longer-range anti-ship missile to counter China's growing military power. The Ministry of Defense will get a record 5.34 trillion yen ($51.7 billion) for the year starting in April, up 1.1% from this year. With Suga's large majority in parliament, enactment of the budget is all but certain.