Trump ‘considered martial law’ to keep Joe Biden out of White House

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were “regarded as snakes” by the first lady, according to a new book by a former aide
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were “regarded as snakes” by the first lady, according to a new book by a former aide
EVAN VUCCI/AP

President Trump considered martial law to try to overturn Joe Biden’s victory, according to several accounts.

The possibility of using the military to enforce a second term is said to have been emphatically rebuffed by many of his closest advisers, but the fact that it was raised in a chaotic Oval Office meeting on Friday marks a new, severe turn in his attempts to defy his defeat.

Sidney Powell and Michael Flynn, two of Mr Trump’s most passionate public advocates, were at the meeting. Ms Powell, 65, is a lawyer who has led many of the failed court attempts to allege voter fraud . Her elaborate conspiracy theories — for example that Hugo Chávez, the former Venezuelan president who died in 2013, was part of