Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin may have confidence in Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.
But a group of two dozen Republican lawmakers certainly don’t have confidence and want Austin to formally investigate Milley for phone calls that breached the chain of command under former President Donald Trump, as were recently revealed by The Washington Post.
At a news conference on Thursday, Austin signaled that he was fine with Milley continuing as the nation’s top military officer, despite a media report that said, among other things, he offered to warn the Chinese army if Trump opted to attack.
“I have confidence in Gen. Milley,” said Austin, who declined to comment further on the Post’s report because the events occurred before he became defense secretary.
But the same day Austin was propping Milley up, Republicans in Congress wanted him to determine how significantly he had undermined Trump as the civilian leader of the armed forces.
“We are gravely concerned with General Mark Milley’s ability to exercise his duties and responsibilities as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” the letter said.
The lawmakers noted Milley “blatantly disregarded the concept of civilian control of the military, and gave aid and comfort to America’s principal adversary, the Chinese Communist Party.”
The letter echoed the Post’s report, which was an excerpt of an upcoming book by its staffers Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.
The claims included that Milley in October, just days before the election, and in January, just after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, called Chinese Gen. Li Zuocheng to reassure him.
Milley told Li that he would call “ahead of time” if an attack was forthcoming, so it wouldn’t be a surprise. He also called off naval exercises in the South Pacific so as to not make China anxious. He also gathered senior officers and told them that he had to be involved if there was any sign of the U.S. launching a nuclear attack, thus, according to the letter, “establishing a parallel chain of command.”
“To conspire with a communist, malfeasant, hostile and genocidal government regarding our intentions – or lack thereof – with utter disregard to the implications of said ‘promise’ on our national security or our Service Members is nothing short of craven (at best) and treasonous,” the letter argues.
The lawmakers further noted that the anti-Trump corporate media reported the story as if Milley had performed a “great service” to the nation. In fact, however, Milley’s “pledge to China is nothing less than outright treason.”
The lawmakers also raised the issue of Milley’s calls to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, during one of which he agreed with her in calling Trump “crazy.”
According to the letter, the members of Congress want Austin to investigate to verify the Post’s account and to suspend Milley’s security clearance until the probe is done.
In a statement, GOP U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida said he and 23 other Republicans had signed the letter, arguing that it was “expressing our concern for General Mark Milley’s ability to exercise his duties and responsibilities to this country,” after the general had “blatantly disregarded his duty by secretly communicating with the Chinese Communist Party.”
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