Trump's defense secretary Chris Miller has called for General Mark Milley to resign after he admitted on Wednesday that he made a priv...
Trump's defense secretary Chris Miller has called for General Mark Milley to resign after he admitted on Wednesday that he made a private phone call to a Chinese general behind the former president's back.
Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been branded 'a danger to the country who secretly collaborated with our greatest military rival' by Tucker Carlson, who went on on to rail against Biden's endorsement of the disgraced general.
'In Washington, colluding with the Chinese government is not considered a sin. It's not even weird,' he said.
Miller, who led the Pentagon when Milley made the call in January, said he 'did not and would not ever authorize' the general to have the 'secret' calls and urged him to resign from his post.
'The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the highest-ranking military officer whose sole role is providing military-specific advice to the president, and by law is prohibited from exercising executive authority to command forces,' Miller told Fox News.
Meanwhile White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reaffirmed the administration's support for Milley, lauding him as a 'patriot' and urged people to remember Trump's final two months in office.
'The outgoing president of the United States, during this period of time, fomented unrest leading to an insurrection and an attack on our nation’s Capitol on January 6,' she said, adding that it was 'one of the darkest days in our nation’s history.'
She added: 'There was broad concern from a range of members of his national security team about his behavior and fitness for office.'
Miller (pictured), who led the Pentagon when Milley made the call in January, said he 'did not and would not ever authorize' the general to have the 'secret' calls and urged him to resign from his post.
Tucker Carlson meanwhile branded Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley as 'a danger to the country who secretly collaborated with our greatest military rival'
Miller, who led the Pentagon when General Mark Milley (pictured) made the call in January, said he 'did not and would not ever authorize' the general to have the 'secret' calls and urged him to resign from his post
President Biden reaffirmed his support for General Milley on Wednesday after an event with business leaders discussing COVID strategy
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also weighed in, saying that if the call did take place then China could 'use it to their advantage', and described Milley's decision to make an unauthorized call to Chinese generals as 'treasonous'.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden declared he has 'great confidence' in Milley after the embattled military man admitted to making the unauthorized call on Wednesday without the knowledge of the Pentagon chief or President Trump.
'I have great confidence in General Milley,' Biden said to reporters on Wednesday afternoon.
Yesterday, Tucker Carlson highlighted Milley's recent favourable comments about China, and questioned whether the general was fit to occupy his position.
'Milley thinks China is winning, and so he's sucking up to his new masters, so he tells us, "Russia’s the only country on Earth that has the capacity to destroy the United States." That's absurd.
'Nobody believes that. The Chinese military is far, far more powerful than anything Vladimir Putin controls. It's not even close.
'Milley knows that, he's lying about it.'
Carlson continued: 'Oh, we don't want to jump to conclusions yet. Really? What conclusions? How much more evidence do you need exactly? And why does no one in Washington consider this a crisis?
'The leadership of the Pentagon, some of them, anyway, constitute a threat to the United States.'
Miller meanwhile pointed out that the chain of command goes from the president to Defense chief, not through Milley's position.
His former chief of staff Kash Patel told Fox, 'The law governing the Joint Chiefs of Staff specifically forbids the chairman from exercising any operational command authority.'
The outlet also reported the call placed in October was coordinated with then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who was fired shortly after the election.
Mike Pompeo said: 'If you had a senior military leader who was simply an advisor tell the Chinese Communist Party that they would get notice of an attack, this rivals anything we've seen in our nation's history.
'Only the President of the United States has the capacity to make those decisions, and I'd be shocked if the then-acting Secretary of Defense gave him any authority to even contemplate that very conversation.
'I imagine it would be treasonous.'
But current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is standing behind Milley.
'He has full trust and confidence in Milley and the job that he's doing,' Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing on Wednesday.
Kirby declined to comment on reports that the general told his Chinese counterpart that he would give China a 'heads up' if Trump decided to strike.
'I'm not going to speak to unconfirmed reports from a book that we haven't looked at and read yet, and certainly not to a conversation that took place before the administration took office,' he said.
But he added that 'chairmen across multiple administrations' routinely have 'direct channel communications with their counterparts in other countries.'
'It is particularly important to have those communications with a nation-state with which there are real and significant tensions to try and reduce those, clear things up, make sure you reduce the risk of miscalculation.
I think you saw in the statement the chairman's office put out earlier today, that was exactly what was behind the context for this particular call,' he said.
Kirby said the calls took place during 'a difficult time in our nation's history.'
The spokesman was vague when he was pressed on whether it was normal for a Joint Chiefs chairman to not consult the president before contacting a foreign counterpart.
One reporter asked if Milley should be court-martialed - prompting Kirby to exclaim 'Oh my goodness.'
'I can't speak to processes before this administration took office - I just can't,' an exasperated Kirby said.
But he admitted that it was 'typical' for conversations with a country like China would be a 'fully coordinated conversation.'
Retired General Jack Keane said on Fox that he takes Milley at his word and called his actions 'responsible.'
Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton also expressed support for the embattled chairman, noting the 'pressures' he would have been under in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
'I have no doubt General Milley consulted widely with his colleagues on the National Security Council and others during this period,' Bolton said in a statement Wednesday. 'I would also be very surprised if many of them were not fully aware of General Milley's actions, and they fully concurred in them.'
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reaffirmed the administration's support for Milley, lauding him as a 'patriot.'
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby shrugged when he was asked to confirm whether it was White House policy 'that there was no senior government engagement with China' at the time Milley made the call
'The president knows General Milley,' Psaki said at her daily news briefing on Wednesday. 'They have worked side by side through a range of international events.'
'The president has complete confidence in his leadership, his patriotism and his fidelity to our Constitution.'
She noted that Milley held his position heading the Joint Chiefs for eight months of Biden's presidency.
Psaki then went on to provide 'context' to the period in which Milley made the calls.
'The outgoing president of the United States, during this time, fomented unrest, leading to an insurrection and an attack on our nation's Capitol on January 6th.'
She called it 'one of the darkest days in our nation's history.'
'I can't speak to the former president's experience with him or the former president's views of him. But this president - this current president, who follows the Constitution, who's not fomenting an insurrection, who follows the rule of law, has complete confidence in Chairman Milley and him continuing to serve in his role,' Psaki said.
Psaki spoke in defense of Milley at her daily White House news briefing
Biden 'has worked side by side with Chairman Milley for almost eight months, as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,' Psaki said at the briefing
She also took a swipe at Republican lawmakers.
'I don't think the president is looking for the guidance of members of Congress who stood by while the president of the United States and the leader of their party fomented an insurrection and many of them are silent.'
Asked whether Biden believes Milley should testify, Psaki deferred to the Pentagon.
The Biden official was also pressed on Trump's Tuesday accusation that Milley committed 'treason.'
'I don’t think I have any further response to the former president, other than to reiterate the context of this moment in time, what everybody’s talking about here,' Psaki answered.
She was also questioned on whether there are concerns over the US military's chain of command, but used the moment to reaffirm Biden's support for Milley using the same points.
'Again, I think why it was important for me to convey what I did, is that the president has worked side by side with Chairman Milley for almost eight months, as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
'His experience with him has been that he is a patriot, he is somebody who has fidelity to the Constitution, and he is confident in his leadership and the role he has played in his experience with him.'
She added that she couldn't 'speak to anonymous, unconfirmed reports about prior conversations during the last administration.’
Milley maintains in the statement that the calls were 'vital' to 'avoiding unintended consequences,' but seemed to dispute that they were done in secret.
Multiple journalists posted the lengthy statement on Twitter, reportedly issued by Milley's spokesperson Colonel Dave Butler.
'The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs regularly communicates with Chiefs of Defense across the world, including with China and Russia,' the statement began.
'These conversations remain vital to improving mutual understanding of U.S. national security interests, reducing tensions, providing clarity and avoiding unintended consequences or conflict.
'His calls with the Chinese and others in October and January were in keeping with these duties and responsibilities conveying reassurance in order to maintain strategic stability.'
In his statement Milley claimed that the phone calls were done in coordination with other Pentagon officials.
'All calls from the Chairman to his counterparts, including those reported, are staffed, coordinated and communicated with the Department of Defense and the interagency.
'Also in keeping with his responsibilities as senior military advisor to the President and Secretary of Defense, General Milley frequently conducts meetings with uniformed leaders across the Services to ensure all leaders are aware of current issues.
'The meeting regarding nuclear weapons protocols was to remind uniformed leaders in the Pentagon of the long-established and robust procedures in light of media reporting on the subject.'
'General Milley continues to act and advise within his authority in the lawful tradition of civilian control of the military and his oath to the Constitution.'
But a number of right-wing figures denounced Milley as a 'traitor'
'If the allegations are true, Gen Milley should go down in history as a traitor to the American people,' Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs wrote on Twitter Wednesday.
Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia demanded on Twitter that the transcripts of Milley's phone calls be released.
Senator Marco Rubio recorded a video message following the release of Milley's statement.
'What I was hoping we would have today is a denial - that this is not true, this is all made up,' the Florida Republican said.
He questioned assurances that there was nothing unusual about the calls.
'If these are normal phone calls like the kinds he makes every night, then why is this a story?' Rubio asked.
Rubio accused Milley of being the source who first told Bob Woodward and Robert Costa of the calls when they were compiling information for their book 'Peril.'
'I think he talked to them. I think he portrayed it that way, I think he told them this wasn't normal, I had to do this for the good of our country - because he wanted to make himself look good,' Rubio said.
Trump accused Milley of being a 'treasonous' after the allegations in the new book surfaced
Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas told Fox he would be calling for an investigation into Milley and said the general should be incarcerated.
'If this is true, he needs to be held accountable. And when I say "held accountable," I’m not talking about just resigning or quitting,' Jackson said. 'I’m talking about potentially going to prison if this is true. I mean, this is treason. These are high crimes.'
The allegations that Milley broke the chain of command to make the 'secret calls' are part of 'Peril,' a book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.
The account is set to hit shelves on September 21.
It claims Milley made secret calls to his counterpart in Beijing while Trump was president.
In it, the Washington Post journalists allege that he went behind Trump's back to promise China to warn them if the U.S. planned to attack.
Milley reportedly sought to assure General Li Zuocheng of the People's Liberation Army in China that the U.S. was not about to launch strikes in a pair of phone calls.
In one call he said he would use backchannels to alert his counterpart if an attack were imminent.
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