Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday evening that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley ought to be “court-martialed” if reports that he contacted his Chinese counterpart and said he would warn him of an attack planned by then-President Donald Trump ahead of the November election.
“I don’t care what you think of President Trump, the Chairman of the JCOS working to subvert the military chain of command and collude with China is exactly what we do not accept from military leaders in our country,” Paul, a Kentucky Republican, tweeted.
“He should be court martialed if true,” he wrote.
I don’t care what you think of President Trump, the Chairman of the JCOS working to subvert the military chain of command and collude with China is exactly what we do not accept from military leaders in our country. He should be court martialed if true. https://t.co/cqWo2rXLEC
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) September 15, 2021
Paul then called out President Joe Biden to fire Milley “immediately.”
“Couple that with his inept handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and it is clear General Milley is no longer fit to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and should be removed immediately,” he wrote.
Couple that with his inept handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and it is clear General Milley is no longer fit to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and should be removed immediately.
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) September 15, 2021
Paul was responding to excerpts from a forthcoming book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa titled “Peril,” in which they claim Milley undermined then-President Trump ahead of the November election in a phone call with his Chinese counterpart in which he suggested that he would contact the general ahead of time if Trump were to launch an attack.
The authors allege “that Milley made two secret phone calls, both to his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army. The book alleges that the phone calls took place prior to the 2020 presidential election on Oct. 30, 2020, and two days after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, on Jan. 8, 2021,” Fox News reported.
“According to the book, Milley contacted Li after he had reviewed intelligence that suggested Chinese officials believed the United States was planning an attack on China amid military exercises in the South China Sea,” the network continued.
“General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be OK,” Milley reportedly told his counterpart him during the first call, the book said. “We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you.”
The authors then said that Milley said he would warn Li ahead of any attack.
“Gen. Li, you and I have known each other for now five years. If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time,” Milley added, as reported by the book, which is set to be released next week. “It’s not going to be a surprise.”
“Those phone calls, according to the book, were never mentioned to Trump, as Milley believed his mental state had declined following the election, something about which he shared his thoughts in a phone call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Jan. 8, the same day he called Li the second time,” Fox News added.
“According to Pelosi, she spoke with Milley that day about ‘available precautions’ to prevent Trump from engaging in military action” including the use of nuclear weapons, the report added.
“The book also alleges that Milley made a phone call to the admiral in charge of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and suggested postponing any additional military exercises. The book also noted that Milley requested senior officers swear an “oath” that his involvement be necessary should Trump give an order to launch nuclear weapons during his final days in office,” the report continued.
Trump has since lashed out at Milley’s alleged insubordination and said to him it amounts to “treason.”
In a statement, Trump said he assumed that Milley, whom he labeled a “Dumbass,” “would be tried for TREASON in that he would have been dealing with his Chinese counterpart behind the President’s back and telling China that he would be giving them notification ‘of an attack.’ Can’t do that!”
Syndicated with permission from USA Features News.
