A proposal to grant Michael Flynn allies extraordinary powers

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     June 6, 2022 More than 500 days after the attack on the US Capitol, the jury is still out over how Republicans are approaching the Big Lie. A handful of GOP candidates have embraced the false claim that the election was stolen from Donald Trump—and won—while others, particularly in [Pennsylvania]( and [Georgia](, appear bored and effectively over it. "I think the shine has gone off a bit," is how one Republican strategist described Trump's hold on the party. Still, the bombshells over how far MAGA world could have gone in attempting to subvert democracy keep dropping—and they're worth remembering as the January 6 committee finally holds hearings this week. Here's a [scoop from my colleague Dan Friedman]( this weekend: A business associate of Mike Lindell—the MyPillow executive promoting outlandish conspiracy theories—circulated an especially extreme proposal: a [draft executive order]( that would have empowered armed Trump supporters to seize voting data and conduct investigations of supposed "election tampering." The proposal, obtained by Mother Jones, identified three individuals who would be granted this power. Two were associates of former national security adviser Michael Flynn: retired Army Colonel Philip Waldron and Texas businessman Russell Ramsland. Waldron and Ramsland, at the time, were working closely with Flynn and lawyer Sidney Powell to promote the unsubstantiated and loony allegation that the Chinese Communist Party, in cahoots with billionaire George Soros and an array of other actors around the globe, had rigged US voting machines to throw the presidency to Joe Biden. Now imagine with me a world where friends of Michael Flynn were granted such extraordinary powers and the federal government was running around seizing voting machines, guns at the ready. It's unclear how seriously this proposal had been taken at the time. But remember it when the first January 6 hearing airs this Thursday. —Inae Oh Advertisement [Beacon Press]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Draft Order Would Have Given Armed Trump Supporters Power to Seize Voting Data]( An associate of Mike Lindell circulated the proposal, which would have granted extraordinary powers to allies of Michael Flynn. BY DAN FRIEDMAN SPONSORED CONTENT BY BEACON PRESS   We Need To Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy “The essential handbook for every activist ready to move from resisting injustice to rebuilding a world of justice. Eboo Patel gives us the blueprint for how to build institutions that will birth the beloved community.” —Valarie Kaur, author of See No Stranger. [Learn more at beacon.org](. [Trending] [The GOP’s interest in mental health care is a familiar deflection after a mass shooting]( BY STEPHANIE MENCIMER   [Kevin McCarthy sided with Trump after January 6. Trump just rewarded him.]( BY DAN FRIEDMAN   [Uvalde mom who was handcuffed says police warned her to stop sharing her story]( BY RUSS CHOMA   [UK thieves are pilfering, and threatening, rare wild orchids]( BY HELENA HORTON Advertisement [Beacon Press]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [A 17-year-old processes police sexual violence in one of the summer's most anticipated novels]( Leila Mottley's "Nightcrawling" explores the grief and joy of a young Black survivor. BY MADISON PAULY [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755