What if the "Big Lie" was the smokescreen to cover the document theft?

[Lonestarblue]

20. I don't think Trump or anyone in his orbit is smart enough to plan that.

I still think the ultimate goal was for Trump to stay in power, after which he would have four years to install lackeys in all key roles in the government and declare no more elections for president. He was delusional about his ability to succeed.

Plus, Trump had access to top secret documents all along and could have been regularly selling that intel. Trump and his cabal of crooked attorneys and advisers thought they had Congress tied up with the fake electors who would throw the election certification into chaos. Then Trump could use the flimsiest of reasons, such as civil unrest, to declare martial law or to request domestic military assistance.

“Martial law is the temporary substitution of military authority for civilian government in an emergency. In the United States, government officials have invoked martial law during war, labor disputes, natural disasters, and in times of civil unrest.
…
Civilian governments rarely invoke martial law. Since the United States was founded in 1776, government officials have declared martial law roughly 68 times. Federal and state authorities are much more likely to request "domestic military assistance," which is not the same as martial law. Domestic military assistance supports, rather than supplants, civilian government. For example, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, federal troops used military helicopters to conduct search and rescue missions that local governments were unable to do themselves. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush deployed the National Guard to help state and local law enforcement suppress riots in Los Angeles.“
https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/what-is-martial-law.html

The site has additional information about the use of the Insurrection Act, which was also mentioned as an option Trump might take. Trump had his flunkies in charge of the Pentagon, including Kash Patel. I believe the military would have balked at helping Trump stay in power, but there’s no doubt he wanted to create chaos. Thank God it didn’t work as planned.