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U.S. Gen. Mark Milley responded to the accusations of privately contacting his Chinese counterparts without the knowledge of former President Trump as acting “perfectly within” his “duties and responsibilities”, according to The Daily Caller.
Speaking for the first time since the news broke of the alleged secret communication, Gen. Milley was asked about the the accusations made against him in a new book “Peril”, written by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.
Two alleged phone calls from Gen. Milley to Chinese Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army are described in “Peril”. They claim that Milley allegedly contacted Gen. Zuocheng on Oct. 30, 2020, and Jan. 8 to give assurance that he would warn the Chinese general if the U.S. was going to launch an attack. Milley is also accused of promising to keep then-President Trump in the dark about their communication.
Gen. Milley denied that he committed any violations and refused to respond to any more questions about the matter in the interview.
Gen. Milley said; “I think it’s best that I reserve my comments on the record until I do that in front of the lawmakers who have the lawful responsibility to oversee the U.S. military.”
“I’ll go into any level of detail Congress wants to go into in a couple of weeks.” added Milley.
The Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled to hear testimony from both Gen. Milley and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the withdrawal from Afghanistan later this month.
The committee is expected to explore the details of the alleged phone calls.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki and Joe Biden have both repeated that the administration has “great confidence in Gen. Milley”, despite the accusations in “Peril”.
“What I can assure you all of is that the president knows Gen. Milley,” Psaki assured reporters this week.
She added; “He has been Chairman of the Joint Chiefs for almost eight months of his presidency. They’ve worked side-by-side through a range of international events. The president has complete confidence in his leadership, his patriotism, and his fidelity to our constitution.”
Psaki then redirected the focus of the reporters with accusations against former President Trump.
Psaki told those present at the press conference; “There has been widespread reporting and commentary from members of his own cabinet, the former president’s cabinet, including high-ranking national security officials, questioning the former president’s stability, his behavior, and his suitability to oversee the national security of the United States. So those are important questions that need to be discussed as well.”
Col. Dave Butler, Gen. Milley’s spokesperson, released a statement in order to address the accusations made in “Peril”, claiming that Milley is not guilty of any wrongdoing.
“The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs regularly communicates with Chiefs of Defense across the world, including with China and Russia,” wrote Butler.
The spokesperson continued; “These conversations remain vital to improving mutual understanding of U.S. national security interests, reducing tensions, providing clarity and avoiding unintended consequences or conflict.”
“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,” Butler concluded.