Patel, who has held a number of senior positions in the administration, was named Miller’s chief of staff a few days after the general election and is widely regarded as a Trump loyalist.
The images were captured by a Washington Post photographer and raised immediate questions about Trump’s last step as president. According to two government officials, Trump actually discussed the idea of installing Patel as acting CIA director previously.
Trump has been on the verge of firing CIA director Gina Haspel several times for pulling off the edge, several sources told CNN earlier. In December, he and others devised a plan to end Haspel and put Patel in charge of the CIA. Several options were discussed, including the dismissal of the deputy, Vaughn Bishop of Haspel and the replacement of Patel, who according to them would force Haspel to resign, and also both would dismiss and make Patel acting director.
But sources told CNN that the president abandoned the idea after assistants convinced him that firing Haspel was counterproductive with only a few weeks in his presidency.
Although it was not immediately clear whether the president discussed the issue of CIA leadership with Lindell during his visit to the White House on Friday, the mention in Lindell’s notes renewed the speculation that the issue is not difficult.
Weeks ago, Trump considered a broader cabinet shuffle after losing re-election, sources said.
Miller was named the best defensive work a few days after the election. He and Patel worked together earlier in Trump’s term to fight terrorism.
If the idea is to be considered in just a few days in Trump’s term, Patel, in charge of the country’s leading intelligence service, will need a large amount of bureaucratic gymnastics at the moment. Current and former officials have said that Haspel should not only be expelled, but that her deputy, Bishop, should also be removed.
Asked if there would be any way to make Trump such a high-profile change with only a few days left, one senior administration official said: ‘Honestly, he walks up to people who would even know how to implement the changes. There is no one to do the paperwork, which is quite complicated for unorthodox staff members. ‘
Lindell confirmed to Jim Acosta, CNN, that he had been meeting with Trump for about five minutes on Friday, saying he had tried to hand over to the president what he described as evidence of voter fraud. Acosta conducted a brief interview with Lindell, which did not substantiate any of his allegations, but only repeated some of the false conspiracy theories that Trump has voiced since the election.
Lindell said Trump had told him to hand over his material to attorneys working at the White House, who would look into it.
Asked if he believes Democrat Joe Biden won the presidential election, Lindell said no.
“No, he did not win the election because I saw it,” Lindell said.
Patel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN. The CIA, the Pentagon, the White House and the National Security Council also did not immediately respond to CNN’s inquiries.