Former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller “did not” authorize Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley to reach out to his Chinese counterpart regarding a possible future attack.
Miller denied involvement in Milley’s efforts in the waning days of former President Donald Trump’s term, according to Fox News.
Milley spoke with Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army twice — once right before the 2020 presidential election and again after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, in which he attempted to reassure the Chinese leader no attack against them was being orchestrated, according to a new book by Watergate journalist Bob Woodward and Washington Post reporter Robert Costa, obtained by the Washington Post.
He also said he would warn Li if one were on the way.
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Miller, former head of the Department of Defense following the 2020 election until Inauguration Day, told the outlet he “did not now and would not ever authorize” such calls, which he described as a “disgraceful and unprecedented act of insubordination.” He said the chairman should resign “immediately.”
“If the reporting in Woodward’s book is accurate, it represents a disgraceful and unprecedented act of insubordination by the nation’s top military officer,” Miller explained. “[If Milley’s] histrionic outbursts and unsanctioned, anti-Constitutional involvement in foreign policy prove true, he must resign immediately or be fired by the Secretary of Defense to guarantee the sanctity of the officer corps.”
He also noted that the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman 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.”
“The chain of command runs from the president to the secretary of defense, not through the chairman,” he said.
Despite the ultimatum, he told Politico that, “I imagine there was a perfunctory exchange between us and our staffs about coordinating phone calls and messages for the day.”
“I don’t recall the specifics, and it certainly wasn’t in a detailed or more formal way,” he added. “It was more perfunctory/routine.”
Shortly after the reports of Milley’s alleged phone call surfaced on Tuesday, which a spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff did not refute, there were multiple calls for his resignation — especially from conservatives.
Milley “regularly communicates with Chiefs of Defense across the world, including with China and Russia,” Joint Staff spokesperson Col. Dave Butler said in a statement. “These conversations remain vital to improving mutual understanding of U.S. national security interests, reducing tensions, providing clarity and avoiding unintended consequences or conflict.”
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Pentagon spokesman John Kirby repeatedly declined to answer specific questions about the phone calls between Milley and Li. However, he said such conversations with foreign counterparts are within the chairman’s role.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, “The president has complete confidence in his leadership, his patriotism, and his fidelity to our Constitution.”
Biden himself said he maintained “great confidence” in Milley.
