Here’s why the next Mark Meadows-style stunt may not be a failure: analysis

Shortly after the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump's allies quickly began devising a plan in the hope of overturning the results. As the House Select Committee continues its investigation into the U.S. Capitol riots, details about a controversial PowerPoint presentation that landed in former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' inbox are also coming to light.

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank explores the 38-page PowerPoint, what it suggests, why it failed and why the next one may not be a failed attempt. The newly-discovered PowerPoint reportedly included suggestions the former president might take to overturn the election.

According to Milbank, the PowerPoint suggested Trump "announce a 'national security emergency' and 'declare electronic voting in all states invalid' — thereby overturning the 2020 election."

Now, Meadows has been subpoenaed to answer questions about the PowerPoint and an email correspondence where he suggested the National Guard was actually on standby to "protect pro-Trump people" as opposed to law enforcement.

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Although Meadows is refusing to cooperate with the investigation, Milbank is highlighting the troubling aspects of the attempted coup and the disturbing reason why it failed.

"Not for the first time, we are reminded that American democracy was saved by Team Trump’s buffoonery," Milbank wrote. "They had the will, and possibly the means, to overthrow the 2020 election, but the would-be coup was attempted by clowns: Sidney 'Kraken' Powell, the MyPillow guy, Rudy Giuliani of Four Seasons Total Landscaping, and now one Jovan Hutton Pulitzer."

Milbank continued:

The New York Times reported that the Meadows PowerPoint ' appears to be based on the theories' of Pulitzer, a 'Texas entrepreneur and self-described inventor.' Pulitzer told my Post colleagues that he contributed material for the PowerPoint, which was circulated by a retired colonel who has worked in cybersecurity, firearms and distilleries — an example, the Post reported, of the 'cast of fringe personalities' Trump deployed 'to sabotage the U.S. democratic process.'

While Trump's allies did fail in their attempts to overturn the election, Milbank issued a warning explaining why no one should dismiss their efforts. "It’s tempting to dismiss charlatans such as Pulitzer, and Trump aides such as Meadows who relied on crackpots," Milbank wrote. "But it’s little comfort that democracy was saved only by the bumbling of the coup plotters."

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