Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) And retired lieutenant colonel Alexander Vindman have called on the joint chairman of the chief of staff, General Mark Milley, to lose his job over alleged secret calls to China amid concerns about former President Donald Trump.
Danger, an upcoming book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, alleges that Milley made two calls to his Chinese counterpart, General Li Zuocheng, one day before the 2020 elections and the other days after the January 6 uprising at the Capitol, for fear that Trump’s actions could start a war, according to The Washington Post.
Rubio sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Tuesday asking him to fire Milley “immediately” for working to “actively undermine” Trump.
“[Milley] worked to actively undermine the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces and contemplated a treacherous leak of classified information to the Chinese Communist Party before a potential armed conflict with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), ”he said. write Rubio “. These actions by General Milley show a clear lack of sound judgment and I urge you to remove him immediately. “
“General Milley has tried to rationalize his reckless behavior by arguing that what he perceived as a military trial was more stable than his civilian commander,” he continued. “General Milley must be fired immediately. America’s national security and the ability to lead the world are at stake.”
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Vindman, a key witness to Trump’s first ouster that the former president later described as “very insubordinate,” said in a tweet that Milley should resign if the alleged phone calls occurred. Vindman argued that the alleged phone calls “set an extremely dangerous precedent” from which “one cannot simply move away.”
“If that’s true, GEN Milley has to resign,” Vindman tweeted. “He usurped civilian authority, broke the chain of command and violated the sacrosanct principle of civilian control over the military.”
If this is true, GEN Milley must resign. He usurped civilian authority, broke the chain of command, and violated the sacrosanct principle of civilian control over the military. It is an extremely dangerous precedent. You can’t just walk away from that. #dotherightthingintherightway https://t.co/izsMMCFPrz
– Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) September 14, 2021
Danger reportedly, on October 30, 2020, Milley called Li after worrying about intelligence reports, the indicated China believed that the US was preparing a military strike. According to reports, the general assured his Chinese counterpart that no such attack had been planned and that if anyone was on his way “it would not be a surprise” because he would call “in advance”.
The second alleged call came on January 8, 2021, shortly after Milley received a call from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), who argued that the Capitol insurrection was proof that Trump was “crazy.” . Milley reportedly feared the former president would launch a nuclear strike and told Pelosi that he agreed with her before calling Li to say the United States was “100% stable” and that the situation was ” well “.
Trump told Newsmax on Tuesday that Milley’s promise to warn of an impending attack was “treacherous,” insisting that “he never thought of attacking China.” Milley, who previously served as chief of staff to the military, became the chairman of the joint chief of staff in 2019, having been appointed by Trump during the previous year.
Newsweek he addressed the White House and the office of the chairman of the cabinet boards to comment.