Hegseth ordered an investigation into Milley’s conduct
Mark Milley, the Army Joint Chiefs Chairman, and the White House: Why the Vietnam War Ends Against the U.S.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Pentagon’s inspector general to investigate the “conduct” of retired Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley — who at times clashed with President Trump during his first term — and determine whether it’s appropriate he should be reduced in rank from his current four stars.
Reed said that General Milley and the other former administration officials face deadly threats from Iran, because they carried out President Trump’s order to kill General Soleimani. It is negligent for President Trump and Secretary Heggs to cancel General Milley’s security detail for political reasons. The Administration has placed Milley and his family in grave danger, and they have an obligation to immediately restore his federal protection.”
The decision to take Milley’s security detail was criticized by Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
It was not immediately clear exactly what conduct amounted to undermining the chain of command. Milley disagreed with Trump and his aides on a number of issues, from using active-duty troops to restore order in American cities, to the president inquiring about whether the military could shoot unarmed protestors, which Milley and other officials said was an illegal order.
Milley and others were able to convince Trump to change his mind. Trump wanted to remove all U.S. troops from Syria in 2018, though Milley persuaded him to have hundreds of troops remain to work with Kurdish forces and deal with a continuing threat from the Islamic State.
Air Force General David Goldfein was preferred to be Trump’s military adviser over the Army’s Mark Milley when he was elected. Trump admired Milley’s outspoken ways and boisterous demeanor. But over time the relationship deteriorated, much like it did with Trump and two other retired generals — Mattis and former White House chief of staff John Kelly.
After the George Floyd protests, Milley walked with Trump through Lafayette Square, where law enforcement and the National Guard forcibly removed demonstrators. At the time, Milley was wearing camouflage fatigues. Milley seemed to not want to appear in what was clearly a political event when Trump walked through the square to St. John’s Episcopal Church. Officials say that Trump incensed Milley by issuing an emotional apology at National Defense University.
The photograph of Milley at Lafayette Square sparked a national debate about the military’s role in civil society. “I should not have been there. My presence in that moment and environment made me think of the military involved in domestic politics. It was a mistake I have learned from as a commissioned uniformed officer, and I hope we all can learn from it. We who wear the cloth of our nation come from the people of our nation, and we must hold dear the principle of an apolitical military that is so deeply rooted in the very essence of our Republic.”
During this time, Milley also assured Chinese officials that Trump wasn’t looking to attack Beijing during his final weeks in office. The punishment would have been DEATH if they had made that call, according to the president, who said such calls were an act so egregious that the punishment would have been death. Officials tell NPR the call already has been investigated and nothing came of it.
After Milley retired, he reminded those in uniform that they had an oath to the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic.
“We don’t take an oath to a tyrant or dictator, and we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” Milley said in a clear reference to Trump. We don’t have an oath to take. We’re willing to die to protect the idea of America, because we took an oath to the Constitution.
The general told Woodward that Donald Trump was the most dangerous of all time. “Now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is the most dangerous person in the country.
The Pentagon and the Legacy of General Retarded Major Hegseth: An Empirical Analysis of the Pentagon’s Charges against Milley
Former President Biden provided pre-emptive pardons to Milley and others, and that applies to federal and military law. But Hegseth appears to be pursuing Milley through administration efforts.
Civil military experts say it’s unusual for a former senior officer to be investigated for alleged underling the chain of command.
Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University, said that it was unusual for a president to punish his own appointees, after the fact.
The author of a book on the U.S. political dynamics of the Iraq War said that the move by the Pentagon could be used by the Trump administration to silence any dissent.
There are rare times when senior retired officers are recalled to active duty for criminal probes. The Air Force general demoted from four stars to two stars, and forfeited his retirement pay of $5,000 a month, after investigators found he engaged in inappropriate sexual acts while in uniform.
The Pentagon felt that they had to distance themselves from the legacy of Milley, despite Hegseth’s orders. A photo of General Milley was removed from a wall within hours of President Trump taking the oath of office.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Pentagon’s inspector general to investigate “conduct” of former Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley. Milley and other former administration officials face “deadly threats” from Iran, because they carried out President Donald Trump’s “order to kill General Soleimani”, US Representative Ed Royce said. “It’s negligent for President Trump and Secretary Heggs to cancel General Milley’s security detail,” he added.