“Lindell also claimed the phrase ‘martial law’ did not appear on the document despite photos,” Acosta tweeted.Then-President Donald Trump in December 2020 was entertaining fringe legal advice from a wider group of outside lawyers than was previously known as he sought to block the 2020 election result. The message Giuliani tweeted ended: “I can see what I can do with Kash, I wish I had.”īiden has picked a senior diplomat, Bill Burns, for CIA director, replacing Gina Haspel.ĬNN’s chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, said he had spoken with Lindell, who confirmed he had met briefly with Trump and was told to give his documents to White House aides. Giuliani himself addressed Trump supporters before the riot, telling them he wanted “trial by combat”. The FBI has rubbished Republican claims that leftwing groups, collectively known as “antifa”, were to blame for the attack on the Capitol. It was not clear which “John” Giuliani meant. The White House pool reporter said Lindell refused to answer questions about his visit on Friday.Įarlier, apparently in error, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani tweeted a message in which he claimed to be “working with the FBI to expose and place total blame on John and the 226 members of antifa that instigated the Capitol ‘riot’”. Kash Patel is a Trump loyalist who after the election was moved to the Department of Defense, where he has been accused of obstructing the transition to Biden. Trump allies, among them the political dirty trickster Roger Stone, have previously advocated the imposition of martial law in the event of electoral defeat. A current LinkedIn page indicates that a Frank Colon is currently senior attorney-cyber operations for the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade, based at Fort Meade, Maryland. The notes seemed to advocate naming an attorney named Colon, described as “up to speed on election issues” and seemingly based at “Fort Mead”, to a national security role.

AY6AyJNSyE- Jabin Botsford January 15, 2021 The notes also referred to Sidney Powell, an attorney and conspiracy theorist involved in Trump campaign lawsuits meant to overturn election results in battleground states, almost all of which have been CEO Michael Lindell shows off his notes before going into the West Wing at the White House on Friday, in Washington, DC. Among visible text were the words “Insurrection Act now as a result of the assault on the”, “martial law if necessary” and “Move Kash Patel to CIA Acting”. Later a Washington Post photographer caught images of Lindell in which parts of notes he carried were visible. On his Facebook page on Friday, the mustachioed seller of sleep aids wrote: “Keep the faith everyone! We will have our president Donald Trump 4 more years!’ Lindell has risen to prominence among allies urging the president on in his attempts to deny reality. The resulting deadly attack on the Capitol led to his second impeachment.Īmid proliferating reports of plots to kidnap and kill lawmakers, and with further demonstrations by Trump supporters reportedly planned around inauguration day, Trump remains at the White House unable to use social media and apparently estranged from many of his closest advisers. The president has now said he disavows the violence he incited at the US Capitol last week when he urged a mob of his supporters to march on the building.

Trump declare martial law