Earlier today, one of the most consequential stories in a long time broke with the revelation that Gen. Mark Milley, now the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had colluded with the Chinese to possibly commit treason. The discussion that led to the quote in question happened via secret, unsanctioned calls between Milley and a top Chinese general. At one point, Milley is reported to have pledged to the Chinese that he would tip them off about any possible attack coming from the United States.
Later, it was revealed that Milley was working with Nancy Pelosi, both of which were trying to subvert the constitutional system in order to essentially neuter Donald Trump’s ability to function as Commander in Chief.
Now, the clean-up crew has arrived to gaslight everyone and claim that was transpired not only didn’t amount to an intention to commit treason but was “routine.” Here’s Pentagon stenographer Jennifer Griffin relaying the message without a hint of skepticism.
As far as the facts on the ground go, Milley has two choices. He can either claim that the quote attributed to him by The Washington Post (which was quoting Bob Woodward’s new book) is false and that he never said it, or he can admit he told a foreign adversary that he was willing to commit treason. There is no third option where Milley and the Pentagon get to pretend that all of this was routine because it absolutely was not.
Regardless of what “fears” Milley may have had following January 6th, we still have a constitution and a military that is controlled by civilian, elected leaders. There is no possible justification for a military general setting out to not only conduct his own foreign policy but to also offer aid and comfort to our enemies. That is, by the very definition of the word, treasonous.
Further, no one should be taking Milley’s claims of concern as a representation of reality. He is a deeply disturbed, delusional man who went so far as to compare January 6th, an event that resulted in no purposeful deaths except a police officer shooting Ashil Babbitt, to the Russian Revolution. Milley apparently saw himself as saving the country from a coup, but in the end, it was he that did more to execute a coup than anyone on January 6th.
None of this adds up to be routine, and it’s incredibly insulting that the Pentagon thinks they can brush this under the rug with such a whitewashing.
What Milley did in conjunction with Pelosi is the biggest breakdown of the constitutional order in modern history. We had a general essentially declare himself a military dictator, calling up foreign adversaries to let them know he had their back and would sell out his own country to give them information. And for what? There is no evidence Donald Trump was going to order an attack on China. Rather, Milley’s actions were driven by his delusional god complex.
But even if you assume Trump was going to do something dangerous (he wasn’t, but let’s assume), Milley’s obligation would be to refuse the order, resign, and notify Congress. It would not be for him to make secret calls to the Chinese to let them know he’s going to feed them information.
This is the kind of thing Republicans can not let go of. There have to be repercussions here or we cease to be a functioning nation. If that means a Republican-led DOJ taking action in 2025, so be it.