Gen. Milley denies undermining Trump's command in calls to China; Biden refuses to fire him



Gen. Mark Milley, the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, denied a report that he undermined former President Donald Trump's command and President Joe Biden threw his support behind the nation's top military leader.

Milley faced calls for his resignation after reporting in a new book claimed that he had called his military counterpart in China to reassure them after the Jan. 6 rioting at the U.S. Capitol, and to say he would warn them if there was a surprise attack.

Milley denied that he had undermined the chain of command in a statement released through a spokesperson.

"The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs regularly communicates with Chiefs of Defense across the world, including with China and Russia. These conversations remain viral to improving mutual understanding of U.S. national security interests, reducing tensions, providing clarity and avoiding unintended consequences or conflict," said Colonel Dave Butler.

"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. All calls from the Chairman to his counterparts, including those reported, are staffed, coordinated and communicated with the Department of Defense and the interagency," he continued.

"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," the statement concluded.

Biden responded to the claims on Wednesday and signaled that he had no intention to fire him.

"I have great confidence in General Milley," Biden said to a reporter.

Among those voices calling for Milley's immediate firing were Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who said Biden should act to reestablish the tradition of civilian control over the military.

"These actions by General Milley demonstrate a clear lack of sound judgement, and I urge you to dismiss him immediately," wrote Rubio to Biden.

John Bolton, the former national security advisor to Trump, defended Milley in a statement on Wednesday.

"Mark Milley is a staunch supporter of the Constitution and the rule of law. His patriotism is unquestioned," said Bolton in part.

"In the days after Donald Trump's November 3, 2020, election defeat, I can only imagine the pressures he and others were under in fulfilling their Constitutional obligations," Bolton continued. "I have no doubt General Milley consulted widely with his colleagues on the National Security Council and others during this period. I would also be very surprised if many of them were not fully aware of General Milley's actions, and that they fully concurred in them."

Here's more about the claims against Gen. Mark Milley:

Rand Paul: Gen. Milley calls to China could've caused accidental WARwww.youtube.com

Sen. Marco Rubio calls on Biden to immediately fire Gen. Milley over 'treasonous' report he undermined Trump



Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida called on President Joe Biden to immediately fire Gen. Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after a report claiming he undermined former President Donald Trump in calls to China.

"I write with grave concern regarding recent reporting that General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, worked to actively undermine the sitting Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forced and contemplated a treasonous leak of classified information to the Chinese Communist Party in advance of a potential armed conflict with the People's Republic of China (PRC)," wrote Rubio in the letter Tuesday.

Milley is accused of calling his counterpart in the Chinese government to assure them that he would prevent an attack ordered by Trump and that he would let them know beforehand of a surprise attack if it were to be launched.

The report says that Milley's actions stemmed from his fears that the former president had become unstable after the attack on the U.S Capitol by some of his supporters who were angry at the official results of the 2020 presidential election.

Rubio said in the letter that Biden should fire Milley in order to protect the U.S. principle of civilian rule over the military.

"These actions by General Milley demonstrate a clear lack of sound judgement, and I urge you to dismiss him immediately," continued Rubio.

"General Milley has attempted to rationalize his reckless behavior by arguing that what he perceived as the military's judgement as more stable than its civilian commander. It is a dangerous precedent that could be asserted at any point in the future by General Milley or others. It threatens to tear apart our nation's longstanding principle of civilian control of the military," he added.

"You must immediately dismiss General Milley," Rubio concluded. "America's national security and ability to lead in the world are at stake."

The claims against Milley are made in a yet to be released book by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa entitled, "Peril."

Jen Griffin of Fox News reported that the Pentagon responded to the claims by saying that Milley did not interfere with the chain of command but that he only made sure that everyone knew what their proper roles were in the event of a nuclear launch order.

They added that Milley had routine calls with China and NATO allies of the U.S. where he reassured them that the government was stable and that they were not plotting a surprise attack.

Trump responded to the report by accusing Milley of being guilty of treason, if the claims were true.

Here's more about the accusations against Gen. Milley:

New book claims top general feared Trump might start a war with Chinawww.youtube.com

Trump responds to report Gen. Milley called China behind his back to avoid possible nuke attack: 'That's treason!'



Former President Donald Trump accused Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, of treason over a report claiming that Milley called China order to avoid a possible nuclear war after the Jan. 6 rioting at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump made the comments while appearing on Newsmax Tuesday.

"So first of all, if it is actually true, which is hard to believe that he would have called China, and done these things, and was willing to advise them of an attack or in advance of an attack, that's treason!" said Trump. "And I would think, I've had so many calls today saying that's treason."

The claims about Milley come from a yet to be released book entitled "Peril," by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Bob Costa. The book says that Milley called his counterpart in China to let them know that he would prevent Trump from ordering a nuclear attack on their country.

Trump also said on Tuesday that it was ridiculous to claim that he ever thought about attacking China, and he accused Milley of trying to distract from the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"You never heard the word China mentioned in a thing like this, you heard a lot of anger about China about trade, and we made a great trade deal, you heard a lot of anger and China on the China virus," Trump continued, referring to the coronavirus pandemic.

"But for him to say that I would even think about attacking China, I think he's just trying to get out of his incompetent withdrawal out of Afghanistan," he added.

"The worst, the dumbest thing that anybody has ever seen, probably the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to our country, where they killed our soldiers, we left with embarrassment on our face, we left Americans behind, and we left 85 billion dollars worth of the best equipment that I bought because I was the one that rebuilt our military and then he gave it away," Trump said. "For him to say that I was going to attack China is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard and everybody knows it."

Trump went on to cast more doubt on the report by calling Woodward an overrated "sleaze."

Here's the video of Trump's comments with Newsmax: