A day after he appeared to endorse a military coup in the United States, former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn says his words got twisted.


What You Need To Know

  • Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn says he did not endorse a military coup in the U.S. while speaking at a conservative conference over the weekend

  • When asked why a Myanmar-style coup could not happen here, Flynn answered: "No reason. I mean, it should happen here. No reason. That's right"

  • On Monday night, Flynn said in a social media post: "Let me be VERY CLEAR - There is NO reason whatsoever for any coup in America, and I do not and have not at any time called for any action of that sort"

  • In February, Myanmar’s military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government, killing scores of demonstrators protesting the coup and jailing journalists

Flynn spoke Sunday at the For God & Country Patriot Roundup conference in Dallas, which also featured speakers who support the QAnon conspiracy theory and have pushed false claims that widespread fraud cost Donald Trump the 2020 presidential election.

One audience member asked Flynn, “I want to know why what happened in Myanmar can’t happen here?” while mispronouncing the country’s name.

"No reason,” answered Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general. “I mean, it should happen here. No reason. That's right.”

In February, Myanmar’s military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government, killing scores of demonstrators protesting the coup and jailing journalists. The idea of Myanmar-style coup has since become popular on QAnon and Trump-supporting online forums. 

Flynn’s comments Sunday made instant headlines and drew backlash from some prominent political figures. 

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., was among those who condemned Flynn’s initial remarks, tweeting: “No American should advocate or support the violent overthrow of the United States.”

Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., a retired Navy commander who vice-chairs the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN on Monday that Flynn’s comments were “dangerous.”

"Flynn's remarks border on sedition. There's certainly conduct unbecoming an officer,” she said. “Those are both things that can be tried under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and I think that as a retiree of the military, it should certainly be a path that we consider to have consequences for these types of words.”

On Monday night, Flynn, who served as Trump’s national security adviser for 23 days in 2017, took to the messaging app Telegram to try to clear the air.

"Let me be VERY CLEAR - There is NO reason whatsoever for any coup in America, and I do not and have not at any time called for any action of that sort,” Flynn said.

“Any reporting of any other belief by me is a boldface fabrication based on twisted reporting at a lively panel at a conference of Patriotic Americans who love this country, just as I do,” he added.

It did not appear in video of the exchange that Flynn disagreed with the man asking the question, even adding, “That’s right.”

Sidney Powell, the conservative lawyer who helped promote misinformation about election fraud and also represented Flynn after he was charged with lying to the FBI about his communications with Russian’s ambassador to the U.S., defended the retired general. She insisted that Flynn didn’t urge “the military to take any action to unseat the president.”

“We all know … the military serves under the commander-in-chief, and General Flynn in no way encouraged any act of violence or any military insurrection,” Powell said. “It’s very important that that be clear.”

Powell spoke at the same conference Saturday. She falsely told the audience that the presidential election could still be overturned. 

Trump could “simply be reinstated that a new inauguration date is set and Biden is told to move out of the White House,” Powell said.

Jenna Ellis, a lawyer who worked on the Trump campaign's efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election, wrote on Twitter that Trump will not be reinstated, disputing Powell's claims.

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