Fresh off of a pardon, disgraced retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn has called on President Trump to declare martial law, suspend the Constitution, and overturn the presidential election results.
Flynn – who was forced to resign as Trump’s first National Security Adviser after serving for just 24 days – lent his support to a newspaper ad from a fringe Tea Party-affiliated group called We the People Convention. The ad reads like a screed decrying “leftists,” “socialists,” “domestic and international communists,” and other imagined enemies.
However, the most notable section from the ad calls on Trump to assume dictatorial powers:
When the legislators, courts and/or Congress fail to do their duty under the 12th Amendment, you must be ready Mr. President to immediately declare a limited form of Martial Law, and temporarily suspend the Constitution and civilian control of these federal elections, for the sole purpose of having the military oversee a national re-vote.
Needless to say, it is highly unusual for a retired lieutenant general to call on the president of the United States to declare martial law. It’s even more unusual when that person is a former National Security Adviser and campaign adviser to that very same president – a president who had granted his own former official a pardon for a crime that Flynn pleaded guilty.
While many will be tempted to write off Flynn as a kook, the man has both a large following (over 1 million followers on Twitter, to be precise) and the ear of Donald Trump. Again, despite admitting to lying to the FBI, Trump granted this man a pardon just days ago.
Retired Army officer Paul Yingling put it in starker terms: “Flynn’s anti-election propaganda is an essential precursor to violent terrorist attacks on legitimate electoral outcomes,” Yingling told The Daily Beast. “When the bombs go off, the blood is on Mike Flynn’s hands.”
Even if no violence results – which is hardly guaranteed at this rate – the damage that Trump and Flynn are inflicting on American democracy is real and will last long after this presidency ends.
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr