Inside the December 18 White House Meeting: A Pivotal Moment in the 2020 Election Aftermath

December 18, 2020 is truly a pivotal day in our nation's history. Had Trump followed Byrne's and Flynn's advice, he would not be President today.

AI rendering of the 12/18/20 meeting.

On December 18, 2020, a clandestine meeting unfolded in the Oval Office, bringing together President Donald Trump, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, attorney Sidney Powell, and businessman Patrick Byrne. The trio presented a controversial proposal: to invoke the Insurrection Act, deploy the National Guard, and seize voting machines to investigate alleged election fraud.

The plan was detailed in a draft executive order, reportedly authored by attorneys Christina Bobb and Emily Newman. Published internal emails showed Flynn directing the drafting and revision process. The document stated:

“Effective immediately, the Secretary of Defense shall seize, collect, retain and analyze all machines, equipment, electronically stored information, and material records required for retention under... federal law. Designated locations will be identified in the operation order to be issued by the Secretary of Defense... The Secretary of Defense has discretion to determine the interdiction of National Critical Infrastructure supporting Federal election.”

Bobb, a former Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, served in Afghanistan and Germany from 2009-2012, working closely with military leadership during her tenure. Flynn and Stanley McChrystal held senior command positions in Afghanistan during that period. Both Bobb and Newman later became affiliated with The America Project, an organization founded by Flynn and Byrne that ran the failed Arizona audit and has funded key insurgent operatives in several state GOPs.

Patrick Byrne recently discussed the December 18 meeting on the Roseanne Barr Podcast, explicitly confirming his and Flynn’s involvement in heroic terms. Byrne stated: “Mike Flynn plays himself in the Oval Office with me trying to talk Trump, trying to convince him this is a foreign takeover. Don't listen to anyone; listen to us. We can get to the bottom of this in 48 hours if you work with us, sir, we can get to the bottom of this.” Byrne further recounted advising Trump, "Sir, you know if we don't get to the bottom of it, if we don't find what we think we're going to find right away, we'll tell you. I think you're going to need to concede right away."

The proposal met immediate resistance from Rudy Giuliani, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, and advisor Eric Herschmann, who argued that such actions would constitute a breach of constitutional norms and could expose the president to legal jeopardy. Byrne also revealed Giuliani’s opposition, quoting him as saying, “I told the president if you go ahead with Byrne's plan, we're all going to end up in prison.”

Byrne and Flynn reportedly applied maximum pressure on President Trump in their effort to get his signature on their document. The tension climaxed when Eric Herschmann directly confronted Flynn, reportedly telling him, “Either come over here and fight me or sit the fuck down.” Flynn reportedly sat down.

Despite the aggressive advocacy by Flynn, Byrne, and Powell, President Trump ultimately decided against signing the executive order. Had he proceeded, the military would have been tasked with conducting hand recounts of ballots. However, multiple hand recounts across various states, including Georgia, Wisconsin, and Arizona, have since confirmed the accuracy of the tabulated results, with the exception of approximately 3,000 double-counted ballots in Fulton County, Georgia. These discrepancies were not sufficient to alter the outcome of the election.

The Flynn network had been aggressively promoting the narrative that election fraud was embedded within the tabulation machines and servers. This psyop aimed to convince the president and his supporters that a hand recount would therefore unveil significant fraud. In reality, such a recount would have likely reaffirmed the original results, providing grounds for the media and Congress to accuse the president of attempting to subvert the democratic process.

Indeed, just weeks later, the House of Representatives impeached President Trump for incitement of insurrection related to the January 6 Capitol riot. Had Trump signed Flynn's document, it would have been branded a military coup attempt, a Constitutional crisis, and the charges against Trump would have most likely been treason - a crime for which the punishment is prescribed in the Constitution: death penalty.

After Trump defeated their operation, Flynn’s network pivoted rapidly toward January 6. Working closely with figures such as Roger Stone, Jason Sullivan, 1st Amendment Praetorian (1AP), Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers, they coordinated activities that culminated in the events at the Capitol, laying the groundwork for another critical chapter in this ongoing saga. They continued to publicly promote the narrative that Trump should invoke the Insurrection Act and martial law even after J6.

In the aftermath, the Flynn network has continued to criticize Cipollone and Herschmann, labeling them as traitors and RINOs for their opposition during the meeting.

Trump’s appointee for General Counsel for the Department of Defense, Earl Matthews, has testified to Congress that it was Flynn’s brother, General Charles Flynn, who, along with General Walter Piatt, caused a delay in the response of the National Guard on J6. Matthews testified that he was on the calls when Flynn and Piatt said it would be “bad optics” for the National Guard to step in, even as isolated pockets of violence occurred that day.

In recent weeks, Matthews has also directly and publicly confronted Mike Flynn, Laura Loomer, Flynn operative Brian Gamble, and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio on X. He has indicated repeatedly his understanding that they are part of a coordinated network.