- William Olson speaks with President Donald Trump on the phone on Christmas Day 2020.
- Days later, Olson sent him a detailed plan that included firing the current attorney general.
- The memo, obtained by The New York Times, outlines steps for Trump to stay in power.
Loading Something is loading.
William Olson, a conservative attorney who once worked in the Nixon White House and now represents MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, sent a detailed plan to President Donald Trump to help him try to stay in power.
The memo, obtained by The New York Times, was sent to Trump on Dec. 28, 2020. A few days before, on Christmas Day, Trump and Olson spoke by phone, highlighting a number of right-wing figures who were in the president’s ear as he tried to undermine the election results.
The note and call had not been previously reported.
In the memo, Olson told Trump that those around him in the White House and Justice Department were not doing enough to challenge the election results, but that the president still had options. He said a White House lawyer, who was not named, had a “shameful and dismissive attitude” that was “unacceptable.”
“Although the time to act was short when we spoke on Christmas Day, time is about to run out,” the note said.
“You have a duty to prevent this electoral fraud on the American people,” Olson continued, adding, “It is no understatement to say that the very existence of our constitutional republic is slipping away.”
He then outlined a five-part plan that included Trump hiring new lawyers and leaving Mar-a-Lago to return to the White House as soon as possible.
The third part involved Trump ordering the acting attorney general, who at the time was Jeffrey Rosen, to file a lawsuit on behalf of the US the next day. If he refuses, Olson recommends Trump fire him or reassign him.
“This step will probably lead to thousands of stories that will draw an analogy [sic] until the Saturday Night Massacre in 1973, when President Nixon ordered AG Elliot Richardson to fire Archibald [sic] Cox as special counsel investigating Watergate,” Olson wrote.
The Saturday Night Massacre refers to a night in 1973 when President Richard Nixon ordered the firing of Archibold Cox, the special prosecutor investigating Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate scandal. Attorney General Elliott Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshouse refused to comply with the order and resigned. The Justice Department’s third-highest-ranking official, Solicitor General Robert Bork, followed the order and fired Cox. The episode was damning for Nixon, whose impeachment began ten days later.
Olson also said Trump’s new White House adviser will determine how the powers of the presidency can be used to ensure a fair election count.
“Our little gang of lawyers is working on a memorandum that explains exactly what you can do. The media will call this martial law, but that’s ‘fake news,’ a concept you’re well-acquainted with,” he wrote.
The full memo, titled “Preserving Constitutional Order,” can be read here.
No evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election has been found, and courts have dismissed dozens of lawsuits alleging fraud. This week, a group of Republican lawyers, judges and lawmakers released a report that concluded there was no evidence of widespread fraud.
Olson currently represents MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a staunch Trump supporter who is facing several lawsuits for promoting false claims about the election.
Olson also worked as a White House intern in 1971 while Nixon was in office, according to his website, which includes a photo of him and Nixon.
Olson did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Add Comment