Michael Flynn shared message asking Donald Trump to suspend Constitution, impose ‘martial law’
- The message shared on Twitter was an ad from a right-wing activist group
- Flynn was recently pardoned after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn shared an ad this week calling on US President Donald Trump to “suspend the Constitution”, declare martial law, and have the military hold a new election.
The ad came from Tom Zawistowski, the president of a right-wing Ohio activist group called the We The People Convention (WTPC). In the ad, Zawistowski asked Trump “to exercise the Extraordinary Powers of his office and declare limited Martial Law to temporarily suspend the Constitution and civilian control of these federal elections in order to have the military implement a national re-vote that reflects the true will of the people”.
Zawistowski’s demand is not based in reality. The president does not have the power to unilaterally cancel, delay, postpone, or change the date of an election, even if he declares martial law. That power lies with Congress.
Declaring martial law also does not suspend the Constitution, and the military has no role in administering elections. Even if it did, it would not be able to “implement a national re-vote” because the right to vote is not specified in the Constitution or by federal statute.
The November general election also reflected the “true will of the people”. In addition to notching 306 Electoral College votes (a candidate needs 270 to win), President-elect Joe Biden won the national popular vote, with nearly 81 million votes compared to Trump’s 74 million.
Flynn shared the WTPC ad in a tweet and tagged several Trump-supporting lawyers and media personalities.