MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, one of Donald Trump's avid backers, headed into a meeting with the president at the White House carrying notes that urged the president to invoke "martial law" and to act immediately.
Lindell was photographed before he entered the West Wing on Friday by Washington Post photographer Jabin Botsford, who managed to capture a clear, partial photo of the notes he carried with him.
[Invoke] 'Martial Law if Necessary'
The notes detailed plans to call for martial law and other emergency "powers," which many have interpreted as a last-minute power-grab by the twice-impeached president.
"Insurrection Act now as a result of the assault on the... martial law if necessary upon the first hint of any...", read the notes carried by the MyPillow CEO, who has been one of Trump's fiercest supporters of false claims that President-elect Joe Biden's victory was due to a "stolen" election and insisted on Thursday in a Facebook post that Trump would be president for "4 more years."
This is not the first time Lindell has urged the president to invoke martial law. In December, Lindell tweeted but quickly deleted a call for Trump to impose martial in states that he had lost.
'To be Taken Immediately to Save the Constitution'
Other visible phrases include, "be taken immediately to save the Constitution" and "Foreign Interference in the election. Trigger [ineligible] powers. Make clear this is China/Iran."
"Move Kash Patel to Acting CIA," read another snippet from the notes, apparently referring to "acting CIA director." Patel, a GOP operative and attorney, is currently the chief of staff for acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller.
'He's Planning a Coup'
After photos of Lindell's notes went viral on Twitter, CNN analyst Asha Rangappa, a former FBI agent, tweeted "I think the FBI might need to have a chat with My Pillow guy," before later adding "he's planning a(nother) coup."
"To sum up: Fox's top advertiser, the linchpin of the network's primetime commercial breaks, was at the White House urging the president to do a self-coup to stay in power," tweeted Matthew Gertz, senior fellow at watchdog Media Matters for America.
Lindell told New York Times' Maggie Haberman that the notes he was carrying were from an attorney, whom he did not identify. He also denied that there was anything about martial law written in the notes, but the words, quite clearly, appear in the photo. Lindell told The Daily Beast that he met with White House attorneys who said they would "look into" his suggestions.
