What Is Martial Law? Trump Reportedly Considers Military Rule To Extend Term

President Donald Trump on Friday met with lawyer Sidney Powell and former national security adviser Michael Flynn at an impromptu gathering in the Oval House, where they reportedly discussed imposing martial law to extend Trump's presidential term.

Flynn, who was pardoned by the president, in early December, had appeared on the conservative cable TV channel Newsmax earlier this week, when he floated the idea of imposing martial law and allowing the military to “rerun” the 2020 election.

President Trump insisted that martial law discussion reports were “fake news” and the product of “bad reporting.” However, two people familiar with the discussions told CNN that he brought up the idea during Friday’s White House meeting.

International Business Times could not independently confirm the details of the meeting and whether it discussed the possible imposition of martial law.

The discussion in the Oval Office reportedly led to screaming matches as some White House aides, including chief of staff Mark Meadows and counsel Pat Cipollone, pushed back on Flynn’s suggestion that the election be overturned.

Imposing martial law would allow the military to assume control in times of crisis. Authorities would have the power to search or seize citizens without reasonable cause, and deprive them of the writ of habeas corpus, or the right to a trial before imprisonment. Regular civil courts would also be barred from reviewing decisions made by military authorities.

In the U.S., there is little authority protecting citizens against abuses of power by the military.

Both the president and Congress have the jurisdiction to declare martial law. It remains unclear if Trump endorsed martial law, but the discussion alarmed White House staffers and the press. Martial law has been declared at least 68 times throughout the history of the United States.

“In the conspiratorial conservative base of supporting Trump, there are calls for using the Insurrection Act to declare martial law. When they hear that the president is actually considering this, there are violent extremist groups that look at this as a dog whistle, an excuse to go out and create ... violence,” Elizabeth Neumann, former assistant secretary of Homeland Security under President Trump and adviser at Defending Democracy Together, said.

Trump has previously considered deploying the military against American citizens. In June, the president planned to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy active troops against citizens protesting racism and police use of violent force.