Below is my column in the Hill on allegations concerning Gen. Mark Milley in the final days of the Trump Administration. Milley is expected to answer questions in full this month before Congress. However, if true, the statements made to subordinates and his Chinese counterpart would constitute serious violations for a military officer. What is striking is how many on the left applauded an account of the military unlawfully assuming control of such decisions to negate or countermand a sitting president. Much like the embrace of censorship, the embrace of such alleged a military challenge to civil control would once be viewed as anathema on the left.
Here is the column:
“Peril,” the new book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, is the latest Washington Beltway bombshell account that can light up Washington, although sometimes those fizzle upon later review. The bombshell in this book is the claim that Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, told subordinates to follow him, not then-President Trump, on any order for war, and then allegedly told his Chinese military counterpart that he would warn of any Trump-ordered attack.
According to the book, Milley was deeply alarmed by the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill. His reaction has been well-documented previously, including his oft-quoted reference to the riot being a potential “Reichstag moment” — analogizing Trump’s use of the election controversy to Hitler’s staged burning of the German parliament building in order to grab power.
But Woodward and Costa further claim that Milley stressed the “process” for using nuclear weapons with senior military officers and emphasized that he had to be part of any order. They say Milley made each commander at the National Military Command Center affirmatively state that — according to “procedure” — they would look to Milley to confirm such orders, and Milley considered it an “oath.”
The authors say Milley agreed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that Trump was crazy and could launch a war in the final days of his presidency. They claim Milley called Gen. Li Zuocheng of China’s People’s Liberation Army four days before the election, on Oct. 30, 2020, and then again on Jan. 8, to assure him no attack would be launched — and, if there were to be an attack, that Milley would alert his counterpart in advance.
Washington scandal books are a genre unto themselves. Each has some key revelation crafted to fuel a scandal and sales; often, by the time fact-checkers catch up, the support for the claim is largely irrelevant. That was the apparent case with Michael Wolff’s book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which unleashed a torrent of alarm over claims that top officials were moving to secretly record Trump, in order to declare him incompetent under the 25th Amendment. Journalists later found an array of errors in those accounts, including core claims.
Some reporters like Fox News Channel’s Pentagon correspondent, Jennifer Griffin, have expressed doubt about the Woodward-Costa account. Griffin noted that “there were 15 people on the video teleconference calls,” with Chinese officials, “including a representative of the State Department,” and there was no indication of such alarming content. Pentagon officials insist that the accounts were taken out of context and the authors misrepresented routine meetings and calls.
The book’s account could not be more serious for Milley. While some pundits praised Milley for allegedly taking control over nuclear weapons and war declarations, the allegations — if true — could subject Milley to a possible court martial for usurping the authority of the commander in chief under Article II of the Constitution. Many of us criticized Trump for his Jan. 6 rally speech and his failure to immediately call for his supporters to leave the Capitol. There was palpable fear in Washington that Trump would not accept defeat, fear fueled by reckless references of Trump supporters to declarations of martial law.
Yet such concerns — even if held in good faith — would not justify what is claimed by Woodward and Costa. If Milley told subordinates they were to await his concurrence on an attack order, he would have elevated his authority over the express authority delegated to a president. There is a “process” that includes the chain of command. As commander in chief, a president can always deliver a direct order to any subordinate — and Milley would not have the authority to countermand the commander in chief.
Furthermore, if Milley promised to warn the Chinese of an attack, it could be an act not of insubordination but of treason.
Military officers have long wrestled with such difficult questions. As shown in the Nuremberg trials after World War II, military officers cannot simply claim to “follow orders” when those orders constitute war crimes. Moreover, the U.S. military has long recognized the need for officers to refuse a clearly unlawful order; as shown in United States v. Calley, concerning the My Lai massacre, a clearly unlawful order must not only be refused but, if followed, can lead to court martial.
The problem with this book’s account is that Trump clearly would have had the authority to issue an attack order. Moreover, he presumably would have had a stated reason, even if Milley doubted the justification. The standard under the military code is not a “reasonable basis” to believe in the legitimacy of an action but the actual legality of an action.
What the book describes is not necessarily an unlawful order but an allegedly unstable president — and there is a process for dealing with that eventuality. It is called the 25th Amendment. If Milley felt Trump was no longer capable of exercising his authority as commander in chief, then he had a duty to raise Trump’s removal — not to unilaterally assume the powers of commander in chief.
Under Section 4, Vice President Pence and a majority of the Cabinet could have signed a declaration to Congress that Trump was incapable of holding office. In such a highly unlikely circumstance, Pence immediately would have assumed power, and Trump would have had four days to object. Pence and the Cabinet then would have had to send a second declaration. Both chambers of Congress then would have had to vote by two-thirds to remove the president. Congress has 21 days for such a vote — and, in this case, Trump’s term in office would have ended within that period.
It is doubtful that Trump could have been removed under this process — but Milley is not allowed to create a second option. There is no license for improvisation in the Constitution on this question. In a system based on civilian control of the military, there can be no blurring of the lines of authority. Good intentions are no defense.
Under Article 94 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, mutiny and sedition traditionally have been characterized as “the gravest and most criminal of the offenses known to the military code.” If the Woodward-Costa account is true, it is unclear why subordinate military officers did not come forward with concerns over an unlawful order — not from Trump but from Milley. That is why the book’s sensational account seems driven more by sales than sources.
Congress should look into this account and deal not only with Milley’s alleged actions, but also the options allowed to officers in such circumstances. Milley has not been shy about publicly addressing controversies related to the military, from the Jan. 6 riot to white supremacy, but he has been slow to deny these accounts. The book says Milley treated his alleged order as an “oath” that subordinates would not act on Trump’s order alone — yet it is his own oath that is now in question.
Starting his military career in 1980, Milley swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic” and to “bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” He needs to establish that he did not lose faith with the Constitution by creating an ad hoc chain of command, with himself as the effective commander in chief.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. You can find his updates on Twitter @JonathanTurley.
Honor of Oath ——Military Officers——
“I, Mark Milley, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter”.
If what General Milley is accused of, ‘making statements to foreign counterparts on United States Military plans’ without the approval of his superior, will have brought him dishonor. How can a subordinate believe in him if he’s willing to dishonor his oath he submitted willingly? All members of the military are bound to a chain of command, headed by the President. If President Trump or the Secretary of Defense under orders from the President did not issue an order for General Milley to engage a foreign counterpart assuring them he would pre-warn them of an impending attack by the United States Military; is at best usurping the chain of command and could possibly be considered treasonous. General Milley can use any excuse for his behavior he likes but it does not relieve him of the responsibility to resign for his breach of the oath to the Constitution of the United States he made.
Quoting from Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor speech at Queen’s Hall 1914: “The great peaks of honour we had forgotten-Duty, Patriotism, and clad in glittering white-the great pinnacle of Sacrifice, pointing like a rugged finger to Heaven”.
Trump was and is unstable, as can be confirmed by anyone with eyes and ears.
Sure he was. He’s had a lot of eyes and ears subverting him precisely because he was and is a threat that makes the outcome of their cause unstable.
My cause is the well-being of our country. Yes, “he was and is a threat that makes the outcome of [that] cause unstable.”
My cause is the well-being of our country. Yes, “he was and is a threat that makes the outcome of [that] cause unstable.” – You describe Silly milley to a T ( traitorous ) .
Milley is unstable , and a threat to our constitution , country and the fabric of our people. His woke insanity and his hubris of pulling crap worse than even Al Haig tried should be all you need to know . But it does not fit the narrative of the TDS sufferes and the woke leftists in our goobermints shadows. Hell even that sod Vindmin excoriated and denounced silly milley. As we ALL should.
Work on your reading skills. We were discussing Trump.
“even that sod Vindmin excoriated and denounced silly milley. ”
No, he appropriately said “If this is true GEN Milley must resign.”
IF. Learn the meaning of IF, and then develop some patience til Milley is questioned under oath.
Work on your reality skills…we are discussing a traitorous demoratzi named milley. You know one of your kind.
Turley is sure trying to gin up some of that “age of rage” stuff he always complains about. How ironic. Nearly everyone here is accusing General Milley’s actions as wrong or treasonous. Most by people who have no idea what treason means. It’s even defined in the constitution, it’s a very narrow definition meant to keep yahoos and idiots who have never read or have the capability to understand what the constitution says. The founders were wise to make sure of that.
Many don’t realize that General Milley is a former special forces member, he was eligible to retire almost 20 years ago and chose to stay in the military because he KNEW what he was doing. That wealth of knowledge is what kept US from suffering the dangers of Trumps stupid ideas. Especially after Jan 6. General MIlley did his JOB. He swore an oath to protect the constitution, not to help enable the president to violate it by trying to unconstitutionally overturn the election. He did his duty and calling his counterpart in China was nothing out of the ordinary. He was reassuring the Chinese that Trump was not going to do something stupid. Those criticizing General Milley are acting like they are surprised about what he did when they are finding out now that this happened. General Milley put out a memo in January 12 stating what he was going to do. He made it clear what he was doing to everyone and nobody batted an eye, until the right went on a frothing at the mouth fake outrage over his actions despite the fact that Trump was indeed conducting an unconstitutional overturning of the election. He did his duty, Trump was violating his oath to the constitution. General Milley is being criticized for not doing what Trump wanted not for doing his duty.
Turley is basically throwing chum to his ignorant followers here. He’s just as clueless as them on this. Hes actively engaging in the “rage” he often says is the problem with media today.
sleestack ; Have you ever served ?. This swollen headed general directly undermined the sitting president and directly became a political whore in violating his chain of command with his actions. He deserves to be cashiered and walked out of uniform in total disgrace. He is not fit to lead , he is a hack whom has allowed as well the military to embrace that woke cancer that divides America.
Phergus,
You obviously don’t understand at all what you are trying to criticize. General Milley is an experienced military officer who has over 20 years in the military. He is former special forces and these guys are not just former privates who joined right after college. He is a person who had constant education in military and experience in conflict meaning he KNOWS his duty. The majority of idiots and yahoos here have this idea that the general is supposed to blindly accept anything the president orders him to do. That is not the case. Even Turley mentions this that soldiers are not automatons who are to obey every order, even unlawful ones. General Milley did his job. He swore to protect the constitution against enemies foreign and DOMESTIC. If Trump was deliberately subverting the rule of law by trying to unconstitutionally overturn the election he was duty bound to protect the nation from Trump’s whims and stupid ideas.
It’s as simple as that. Many here are calling for the general to be fired, resign, be thrown in jail because they are more upset with the fact that he went counter to to trump in doing his duty. You have republican legislators who enabled the and tacitly condoned the violence on Jan 6 questioning the General’s actions which where exactly what he was supposed to do.
Slees ; you speak from no experience. Milley is a raging anti American politicized gooberment stooge. You seem to love to otut his military =credentials like it makes him the golden boy you desire. Fact is if you have had ever served you would recognize his lot for what he has become…not what he once was decades ago. Again , if anyone such as him stays in DC with sleezy politicos as long as he has…he becomes one of them and worse potentially. He has shown he is far worse. For someone like you whom is averse to flag waving you sure seem to like to wave it to give cover to your despotic general flavor of the day.
“General Milley is an experienced military officer . . .”
Name the last war that he won.
Name the last withdrawal that he successfully executed.
Name the last time his military intelligence was correct about Afghanistan.
Name his last successful drone strike.
Naming those will be challenging. Naming the following will be easy: The last time he attempted to install a military junta in America.
“Naming the following will be easy: The last time he attempted to install a military junta in America.”
For someone who taught logic for decades, you don’t seem particularly concerned about whether you have valid evidence.
Specify how Woodward and Costa got the “quotes” they attribute to Milley.
“Specify how Woodward and Costa got the “quotes” they attribute to Milley.”
Let’s see:
Participate in a debate with a dishonest skeptic.
Or:
Play naked Twister with a leper.
I’ll take the Twister.
Milley is barred by law from exercising command. He then chose to exercise command and insert himself in the operational chain of command. Regardless of his motives that is never okay.
Especially after Jan 6. General MIlley did his JOB.
Since the military had nothing to do with, pre or post, Jan. 6, any interference by Milley would have been going outside his direct Chain of Command.
Svelaz says:
“Turley is basically throwing chum to his ignorant followers here. He’s just as clueless as them on this. Hes actively engaging in the “rage” he often says is the problem with media today.”
Turley certainly is not tempering the rage which is ALWAYS ignited and inflamed by the Trumpists on this blog whenever he has criticism of Biden and/of Fox’s media competitors. On the other hand, when Turley does criticize Trump and his lies, the Trumpists conveniently ignore that criticism!
Though Turley does not engage in the kind of rage exhibited by his Fox colleague Mark Levin, Turley will not condemn Levin by name. He will denounce publicly a rabid Trumpist like Ted Nugent, but not Levin who vilifies Liberals as “Marxists.”
Turley is a shameless hypocrite- that is well-established.
I don’t know that anything in Woodward’s book is accurate or provides enough context to draw a conclusion.
My loathing of Milley and Adm. Gilday preceded Woodward’s book or even Afghanistan. Milley has made insulting comments to the press about Trump supporters. For that alone, he should be fired. Both Clinton and Obama fired generals just for making insulting remarks, and I completely understood why at the time.
Milley and Gilday, IMHO, deliberated taunted GOP members of Congress with their CRT crap, all but defying the GOP to do anything about it. Finally, both these scumbags have encouraged CRT and BLM advocates to harangue military personnel on military installations. That is exactly the same as allowing the Klan or skinheads to market their crap on military installations.
Milley and Gilday, et al, are creating a massive rift between the most ardent supporters of the military and the military itself. And I would remind you all, THE RADICALS WILL ENTHUSIASTICALLY DEFUND THE POLICE AND THE MILITARY! Why is the military committing institutional suicide for BLM and CRT???
My biggest fear is that Milley and Gilday want to drive patriots out of the military so that if the Democrats provoke a constitutional crisis, the military will side against the rest of us.
If even half the things claimed in Woodward’s book are contextually true, these men are evil. I want Milley and Gilday fired for conduct unbecoming general officers of the U.S. Military.
The oath says: I ___, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
Miley was fulfilling his oath.
Fulfilling his oath to the deep state maybe , but constitutionally he is an aberration , a traitor minimally. You seem to cherry pick definitions herein…excepting you will not see he violated his oath to the chain of command and the people of this great country.
Phergus, General Milley has no oath to the chain of command. There is no such thing. His highest priority is to the constitution,. He is bound to obey orders that are lawful. Trump tying to overturn the election by violating his own oath to the constitution. Milley is duty bound to protect the constitution over trump
In the military…IF YOU VIOLATE THE CHAIN OF COMMAND…you are one and done. That is part of your oath – to the leadership . You speak out against it and they will destroy you. Milley has been in DC way too long. Much like a politician in DC way too long they become corrupted to the filthy lucre and power. Milley is in no way the officer he was 20 years ago. He has been turned by the DC gooberment culture and is more than willing to follow it than his chain of command or the constitution.
Even in cases of wartime when officers violate chain of command to save lives they get demoted , censured and just as often cashiered. It’s a rarity that an officer would survive such chain of command dereliction unless it won a battle , and or made the politicians look good. Milley is not making the politicians around him look anything better than the dogsh*t they are. Milley has embraced the culture of DC filthy lucre corruption over Oath , Duty , Honor & Constitution.
I fyou have not seen milley make a complete jackazz of himself explaining how he wants to understand white rage….that alone clues you in he has sold out all common sense long ago.
Phergus,
“In the military…IF YOU VIOLATE THE CHAIN OF COMMAND…you are one and done.” Obeying orders has never been absolute. Even Turley pointed this out. You can disobey an order when you know it is not lawful. Trump ordering an attack on China as a means to distract from his losing the election is NOT a lawful command and General Milley knew that to be true. His call to his counterpart is perfectly in line with his job of assuring them that Trump’s stupidity and instability after losing the election would not result in an attack out of desperation. The General was doing exactly what he was supposed to.
You being an armchair General and all the “credentials” that come with it doesn’t give you the credibility to make such judgments over a 40 year veteran of the military. Trump never served and obviously he is completely clueless as to what it means to be commander in chief. He believes everyone is supposed to obey his commands like a dictator. General Milley KNOWS that is not how things work in this country and those criticizing him are as equally clueless as Trump is. That is why so many are upset with the General, because they ‘think” trump was a stable individual. He wasn’t. Remember it was trump who claimed to be smarter than the generals. Obviously that is one big fat lie.
Svelaz– “General Milley has no oath to the chain of command. There is no such thing. His highest priority is to the constitution:
—
The Constitution makes the President the Commander in Chief of the military. During the Whiskey Rebellion President Washington even put on his general’s uniform and led troops. Milley was apparently mutinous while subverting a superior officer.
“The Constitution makes the President the Commander in Chief of the military. During the Whiskey Rebellion President Washington even put on his general’s uniform and led troops. Milley was apparently mutinous while subverting a superior officer.”
Quoted for FACT. Sleestack accusations of armchair general…coming form a never served in uniform braggard…ha ha ha. Unless you had skin in that game as in being in the armed forces you do not see your devotion to a traitor such as milley for what it is. You are putting politics above honor , duty and your fellow man. makes you look shallow indeed.
Lt Col Scheller , USMC called this kind of crap out…he knew it would cost him his career and likely retalian from the morass of the swamp. A man of integrity stands up. A duplicitous brutus does what milley did. And the only man the swamp will hold accountable is the honest man whom spoke out…. meanwhile silly milley has green tea with his chicom handlers.
General Milley has no oath to the chain of command. He is active duty military. Every single member is responsible to the chain of command.
Iowan: “Every single member is responsible to the chain of command.”
—–
And if he consciously ignores that he is mutinous if not actually treasonous.
I wonder if he yet realizes that he has gone too far and will never recover his reputation or the confidence of the troops?
JH
Your flexible morals are showing.
You justify any anti Trump action and condemn anything pro Trump.
I get a kick out of your pretzel morality.
CJCS calling the PLA without going through PACOM is rude, the CJCS executing military command is against US Code Title X – (c)Grade and Rank.—
The Chairman, while so serving, holds the grade of general, in the case of the Navy, admiral, or, in the case of an officer of the Space Force, the equivalent grade, and outranks all other officers of the armed forces. However, he may not exercise military command over the Joint Chiefs of Staff or any of the armed forces.
That wasn’t an accident, the intent of this portion of Title X was to avoid the creation of a General Staff and recognizes the core concept of jointness – The services DONT fight wars. The services provide forces to the Geographic Combatant Commands to fight wars. The Joint Staff has always hated the idea that they aren’t a General Staff and lack the authority to tell the COCOMS anything, but they are there to service an advisor to the president, not to lead the operational actions of the US military. The CJCS is supposed to be an advisor, like the Commander’s Chaplain. The Commander may ask the Chaplain his opinion on something, but the Chaplain doesn’t get to insert himself between the commander and his subordinate commanders and give them instruction. CJCS has no more authority to give direction to watch standers in the NMCC than the custodian. Heck, the custodian isn’t actually barred by law from command, but CJCS is so I guess the custodian would be a better answer.
“an allegedly unstable president”
Trump was and is unstable, as can be confirmed by anyone with eyes and ears.
Here’s Jennifer Griffin’s full statement: “I am told this is not true. There were 15 people on the video teleconference calls, including a representative of the State Dept and the read out and notes from Milley’s two calls with his Chinese counterpart were shared with the IC and the Interagency.” IC = Intelligence Community, including the DNI
Strange that Turley cuts off the second half, which is just as important as what he quoted. Because IF the call was inappropriate and not a single person who heard the call or read the readout filed a whistleblower complaint, then we’ve got bigger problems than just Milley.
“he has been slow to deny these accounts”
Milley had his spokesperson deny them promptly (https://www.npr.org/2021/09/15/1037454733/milley-defends-call-to-chinese-general-about-trump), and Milley himself characterized the calls as “routine” and “perfectly within the duties and responsibilities” of his role, undertaken “to reassure both allies and adversaries in this case in order to ensure strategic stability,” and said he’d go into more detail when he testifies before Congress under oath in a week.
Stop drinking the koolaide and you might see through the fog bro. Silly Milley was treasonous in his actions. Those around him also. You notice the whole whistle blower thing…it was used against Pres.Trump for everything he didn’t do. Yet the apparatchik caste system in our goobermint unionized world along with the politicized drones around them all work for the perpetuation of the state…. and their own selfish welfare. You either refuse to know this for what it is or accept it and deem it unworthy of consideration on these absolute treasonous actions of silly milley and his band in command. In the real world military commanders below them doing what they actually did would have been relieved with malice. But these are the hubris filled entitled cogs at the head of the ticket punching politicized food chain in the pentagon. This crap needs to be reigned in and the house cleaned. But people like you are quite AOK with such duplicitous treachery high on up as it fits your narrative. Kinda like ol gropey dopey joe making edicts and disregarding the constitution to feed his political means even when he out loud says he constitutionally says he can not do such he does it anyhow…to get the money out the door. How is this not criminal ?. How is milley not a criminal too…which he is as well.
When I first read the excerpt from Woodward and Costa’s book in the news, I said that Milley needs to testify about it under oath. He’ll be doing that in a week, and I’ll wait til then to draw any further conclusions.
Having read some of your previous rants, I do not care what your personal opinion is about anything.
And likewise I having read your continual anonymous screeds value your opinions less than a road killed armadillo.
Anonymous,
“Strange that Turley cuts off the second half, which is just as important as what he quoted. Because IF the call was inappropriate and not a single person who heard the call or read the readout filed a whistleblower complaint, then we’ve got bigger problems than just Milley.”
It shouldn’t be strange at all. Turley is deliberately mischaracterizing the issue for the benefit of his faithful base of ignoramuses and armchair generals. Turley is playing to the ignorant by being deliberately ignorant himself. Just as the Newsmax anchor who lost his mind a few days ago at the outrageous idea of MILDLY criticizing trump on his show. What most posters are doing here is the same thing. They are losing their minds at the idea that Trump was not stable or even competent which was true the very moment he got into office. This is the guy who often has to let everyone know he was a stable genius emphasizing “stable” all the time when he clearly wasn’t.
It won’t matter what General Milley says to congress they have already made up their minds that he is a traitor for making Trump look bad. Just as the FDA approval of the vaccine never changed their mind about it’s effectiveness when they claimed they needed approval to accept it. This is what happens when you deal with brainwashed cult members who are already too far gone into their conspiracy theory laden minds. Nothing short of an extraordinary slap to the face by reality will they accept it.
Silly Milley first off is a product of his enchanted environment. West point does imbue a sense of god in the upper crust of their flawed product. Anyone whom has ever served – especially in combat Arms has experienced the level hubris in the majority of those ranked Major and above. The disconnect and political nature of these senior worms is palpable , and always there. This echelon of political class ticket punchers is a virus , and always has been in modern times of our military – all branches of service. Milley is a product of that tainted ticket punching politicized environment.
His absolute treason is justified in his power hungry ego. He is very much like the reviled Al Haig of times past…but in all ways considerably worse.
Woodward is just a typical leftist hack journo. The feel good type. His hubris in this is trying to make it paint “orange man bad” because look what the generals had to do to back stab/stop him. In this very arrogance they expose their duplicitous nature and for the world to see their very treasonous nature to chain of command , the president and our representative republic.
Only an irrational partisan dolt will not see or admit this absolute disgrace and injustice done to America , the office of President and the spit in the face to our constitution by Milley mouse and his band in command.
They should be cashiered every last one of them and disgracefully so !!!.
We have real hero’s like that USMC LT.COL. whom resigned as he protested the command structure taking ZERO accountability , yet the system will endeavor to destroy this man of principal as it exposes their complete and utter hypocrisy. Any of you tools that support and laud milley mouse are surely just as genuinely traitorous He has shown himself to be. Apparatchiks the lot of you.
Al Haig?? Need I say more??
Nope. Got it. Good reminder!
Scheller was part of the command structure. It’s called being in command.
Lt Col scheller USMC is also a man of integrity willing to fall on his own sword to make such clear. Milley on the other hand is a raging POS willing to throw the country and anyone else for that matter in front of the bus to feed his hubris.
Indeed, Scheller paid the price for openly objecting, and he understood why he had to pay the price.
Milley, on the other hand, may have gone about the Pentagon and Beiing Pelosi’s office, spreading calumny about Trump and his supporters, keeping it just below the radar so he could protect his job. That is the perfect example of a D.C. “swamp creature.”
If I had to choose, I’d rather have Scheller than Milley as the head of the JCS.
Milley didn’t go to West Point. He was in the ROTC at Princeton.
Right now there is doubt (Woodward is a notorious liar and Milley is not trustworthy).
But there is a recording of both conversations.
Put it out there for Americans to hear.
None of this 5 year later, redacted cr*p.
This one is important.
I recall that horrified look on Clinton’s face when she lost the election. She apparently knew what we are learning: everything was aligned for her to finish this thing off and Milley (military) was the final piece.
Of course we now know it wasn’t Trump conspiring with Russia, or leveraging political power for personal gain. He didn’t throw open our southern border. He didn’t sabotage our energy independence. He didn’t give away Afghanistan to terrorists and give them $80 billion in military assets as a going away present. He didn’t do any of the crazy $hit we were warned he was going to do.
No, as we’ve learned it has been those aligned by Obama and for Clinton that did Crossfire Razor, Hurricane, likely Covid and of course the 2020 election. Milley isn’t just some rogue general, he’s the canary telling us how close we are to losing it all.
Prof. Turley: “Washington scandal books…[have] some key revelation crafted to fuel a scandal and sales; often by the time the fact-checkers catch up, the support for the claim is largely irrelevant.”. Amen. BRAVO Turley!
“According to the book, Milley was deeply alarmed by the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill”. He was alarmed by American families protesting a manipulated election? Should someone this fragile be holding the rank of 4 stars? Was he alarmed by the shooting of an unarmed female veteran on January 6? Was he alarmed by months of riots by BLM an AntiFa? Is he alarmed by the multiple shootings weekly in Chicago? Is he alarmed by the decision to exit Afghanistan without an exfil for Americans left behind? Questions, questions, questions.
Silly Milleysure did not seem phased by the fourteen servicemen killed by that affgaffastan retreat. Yes I said FOURTEEN as one marine perished soon after from wounds received …and somehow he is forgotten by the media.
Phergus-We still don’t know how many of those kids were seriously injured and are still hospitalized?
I recall one figure of 12 total wounded in that episode. But in reviewing media..it seems the number is blurred to the point of meaninglessness. The media is all for sweeping this under the rug… and adding another body to the count is verboten in their narrative here. Sad but it is what it is…and our media is complicit in the deep state desires over the people.
Milley is a political general.
He is alarmed by whatever alarms the Dems, the party in power (and heading to power at the end of Trump’s term).
If the account is accurate, then the good general was merely attempting to apply the lessons that we taught Latin American officers at the School of the Americas to his own country — that when you can’t trust the politicians the military has to take charge, like they did in Chile & Argentina & Vietnam. (Yeah, I’m that old.)
Goose and gander, and chickens coming home to roost come to mind . . .
General’s did not run the war in Vietnam. It may have appeared that way in the news.
Marine,
It seemed at the time that politicians and bureaucrats were running the war and generals were their scapegoats.
McNamara and his coven of soi disant geniuses stuck their fingers into far too much.
I would add, that it was a Democrat that greenlighted Diem’s overthrow in Vietnam.
So far, there has been no denial that Milley (1) said to Li that he would warn him before any attack or (2) told military officers in the chain of command that they must get his consent to launch a nuclear strike ordered by the President. The JCS Chairman has no operational authority; he is purely an adviser to the President. The only lawful basis on which he could do (1) or (2) would be on the instruction of either the President or the Secretary of Defense. So far, no evidence of any such instruction has been provided. In (1), I suppose Milley could claim that he was not telling the truth to Li about his intent to warn. But that argument has yet to be made. In the absence of any denial that (1) and (2) occurred, and any claim of a lawful basis for those actions, Milley should be fired and should face charges.
So far, there has also been no confirmation that Milley did anything inappropriate. The calls were heard by multiple people and the readouts were read by even more in the IC. If he did something wrong, why didn’t any whistleblower submit a report to any IG?
“In the absence of any denial that (1) and (2) occurred, and any claim of a lawful basis for those actions, Milley should be fired and should face charges.”
How about you just wait a week until he testifies about it under oath before Congress? He already released a statement denying that anything inappropriate occurred.
He did not deny that he said and did what Woodward/Costa claim he said and did. The transcripts, notes and summaries of what he said and did should be made public. Then we will see.
Do you agree that if he said and did what Woodward/Costa say he said and did, without authorisation from the Secretary of Defense or President, then he should be dismissed and face charges?
Yes, of course.
But Trump’s Secretary of Defense already defended Milley, and I really doubt that the claim is true. Again: the calls were heard by over a dozen people and the readouts were read by even more in the IC. If Milley actually did something wrong, why didn’t any whistleblower submit a report to any IG?
“The transcripts, notes and summaries of what he said and did should be made public.”
Not if there’s a national security reason not to release them. Why isn’t it sufficient to you to question people about it under oath? Do you believe that the military is incapable of reviewing whether Milley should be court-martialed?
Have your Russian to English translation fixed.
Fishflaps , Maybe you need your mandarin to English fixed….. it shows.
The far left destroys everything it touches. This is treason and Woodward is a democrat by the way, he would never write a book without having hard facts and evidence. Freedom of the press, another part of the first amendment, is also at stake. The left hate Trump so badly they still use their time and my money to go after him. They are evil hypocrites. There was a time in American history when treason was a death sentence, today it’s celebrated, and I am sure Milley will end up with nothing happening to him. He may resign but with no punishment, you watch what happens, a hearing in a kangaroo court, run by Harris, voted along party lines, and they all head to a party, toasting him. Flynn gets destroyed but Millet gets a better job and pay raise, What a country!
The left is busy spinning.
Milley has Decades of Military experience. He knows all about chain of command. He ignored chain of command, driven by personal emotions. Milleys claims of erratic behavior have been impeached by persons in power at the time. Regardless, you talk to your boss. Secretary of Defense. Not Chinese Military.
I invite all readers of this blog to read what Nikki Haley said about this.
Precisely. Media continue to frame the issue as one supporting Milley’s right to speak to adversaries (in this case, China). But Marco Rubio’s ( and others’) criticism was directed at Milley’s failure to inform Or consult Trump. Going behind his back (AND I truly doubt that Trump would have acted unilaterally).
Given milley has not denied, neither has biden nor any subordinate officers – I am inclined to believe it. milley is no different than any 3rd world military dictator, they all do it to “save” the country from a terrible elected government. By terrible, it means a government they disagree with.
The progressives are the threat they saw in Trump – unquestionly parroting political lies as news, using lies to impeach, then when that did not work just go straight to overthrow the president.
I had a similar thought: If true, Milley has brought this country that much closer to a 3rd world banana republic.
Milley reminds me of the crazy paranoid general in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove.
Thank goodness General Milley believes in the need to protect our democracy against the efforts by Trump et.al to replace it with a dictatorship.
It’s obvious that you’re not intelligent enough to understand what professor Turley road.
bill:
Think about what you just wrote.
You are saying Milley should destroy our Constitution in order to save it.
Don’t want to be rude, but your TDS has overpowered your brain.
Monument ; I detected sarcasm in Bill’s retort. Nothing TDS about that.