I'm paraphrasing the pro-Milley argument to be found in
"Press Secretary Jen Psaki White House Press Conference Transcript September 15":
Jonathan: ... A new book reports that near the end of the Trump presidency, Chairman Milley had two conversations with his Chinese counterpart promising the countries would not go to war and that he would give an early warning if something were to happen. In a statement just minutes ago, Chairman Milley did not dispute this account. On this, does the president feel that these calls were appropriate? Does he have confidence in the chairman? And some Republican senators have called for Chairman Milley to be dismissed. Is he going to keep his job?
Jen Psaki: ... [W]hat I can assure you all of is that the president knows General Milley. 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 and the president has complete confidence in his leadership, his patriotism and his fidelity to our Constitution.... [I]t’s important to consider some of the context... The outgoing president of the United States during this period of time [fomented] unrest leading to an insurrection and an attack on our nation’s capitol on January 6th... One of the darkest days in our nation’s history. Beyond reports in this book, there’s been widespread reporting and commentary... questioning the former president’s stability....
Speaker 1: ... Following up on Jonathan’s comments, questions here. Does the president have any concerns that General Milley perhaps worked outside of the chain of command at all in this?
Jen Psaki: Again, I think why it was important for me to convey what I did is that the president has worked side by side with Chairman Milley for almost eight months as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. His experience with him has been that he is a patriot. He is somebody who has fidelity to the Constitution and he has confidence in his leadership and the role he has played in his experience with him....
Speaker 1: Last one on this, former President Trump called these actions insubordinate and treasonous. Do you want to respond directly to that? And I have one more off topic.
Jen Psaki: I don’t think I have any further response to the former president other than to reiterate the context of this moment in time, what everybody’s talking about here and what we’re reporting on.
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104 comments:
Fidelity to the Constitution, hmm? If the story as reported is true, that's one thing Biden should know Milley doesn't possess.
I know I'm belaboring the obvious. I just... Sigh. I go back and forth between feeling sorry for Psaki and feeling that she's absolutely part of the evil "shadowy cabal" we were all informed worked so hard to bring Biden to the White House.
"His experience with him has been that he is a patriot"
Isn't there a proverb about once you start blathering about patriotism you've run out of argument?
Trump wasn’t crazy. He just has a manner and personality that is abrasive, rude and very unusual. His New Yorker vibe is why I didn’t think he would win in Iowa.
The Left extrapolates Trump’s personality into his policy. The Left also conflates conservatism with insanity. I think the Left is insane.
Nothing happens to Milley. Trump and I agree on this. If Biden fires Milley, then Milley goes public about Joe and the Afghanistan debacle. Biden has been blackmailed by Milley and Biden knows it.
Isn't "complete faith" in someone something that you generally say before throwing them under the bus?
“It was a special time” is the foundation of the Democratic Party.
Milley’s actions
AOC’s dress
Demands to end the filibuster
Packing the Supreme Court
Party-line bills through reconciliation
Election rules during Covid
When is it not a crisis with these people?
Why was [foment] added and who the hell granted themselves the authority to try and improve the press secretary's argument?
...that's The White House Press Secretary, hired because they are good at defending against confrontation...
..anyways, it din't work.
Thoroughly Discredited Milley, the Fruit Salad General, is a weasel. Sad Raggedy Ann press sec wouldn’t know the truth if it bit her on her skinny, freckled ass.
Jen Psaki morphed into nurse Ratched so quickly I hardly noticed.
This support of Milley will not age well, and some are predicting that Milley will eventually be the Biden scapegoat for Afghanistan.
With or without Milley, if China or any foreign adversary takes aggressive action during the Biden presidency, it seems clear which president is the one more likely to over- or under compensate due to mental "instability."
Biden has taken billions from China.
Of course Biden is comfortable working with a fellow traitor who sold out to China.
Psaki is entirely Newspeak -- "fidelity to the Constitution"! -- but for me the worst element of this is Gen. Milley telling the CCP general that Milley would give him advance warning of any attack or of any "something." I don't understand how an American military leader could ever express such a thought or say such words. The military has been debased by this group of leaders.
Watching our society degenerate over the years, I used to think of the military and its loyalty and high standards as one of the few consolations and sources of hope for the future.
so, the military shouldn't take orders, from a President that they feel is "crazy"?
How about one, that they feel is demented?
Should a military person take orders, from a commander, that they feel is "crazy"?
How different would the world be, if soldiers could say to their captains...
"You're F*cking Crazy! I'm not going up that hill?"
or, "You want us to fly our B-29's at 8,000ft? and Do WHAT to Tokyo? That's Crazy!"
It's like from Forrest Gump: "Things got a little out of hand. It's just this war and that lying son of a bitch, Johnson!"
"It was a special time, we had a President was crazy, and General Milley's behavior must be understood in that context."
It's always a special time in banana republics. Made specialer when an opponent is in power.
By the way, since we are on the topic of pols and generals breaking rules, has any press secretary previous called a president "crazy"?
She’s just green lighted a banana republic where the military can overrule the President. She can’t imagine it happening to Biden.
The elements of the crime or malfeasance are obvious, but its OK this time because "there’s been widespread reporting and commentary... questioning the former president’s stability.... ". And the President, who often seems to not know where he is or who he is, has confidence in the General.
This doesn't really work for me.
You have to understand, as far a the left is concerned the ends always justifies the means. And the end is the power to make you obey.
Someone should ask Ms. Psaki if she believes the General's actions would also have been acceptable if he was concerned that the president had dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
What should the generals do if a demented commander-in-chief gives a wacky and destructive order? A cascade of resignations? Until some ambitious creep decides obeying the command is a great opportunity for him?
I don't know what the particular protective protocols might be. I do know that the Democrats are masters of projection. If only they could see how good they are at it. How much must the country suffer before the voters repudiate them for good?
Hong Kong is now completely China territory. Taiwan is next. If nothing is done about General Milley's unilateral agreement to China, then expect China to behave accordingly. This won't bother Biden, because he doesn't need a car, doesn't want us to have them, and his family has issues with computers in general. Everyone else will be impacted.
If the military was ready to overthrow Trump because of his alleged mental state, how do they feel about President "Not All There" Biden?
For god's sake, he just forgot the name of the Prime Minister of Australia he was talking to via remote video "That fella down under".
It was a special time, We had a President who we constantly claimed was crazy, but had zero evidence to support the smear.
Any way crazy is way different than dementia right?
"Beyond reports in this book, there’s been widespread reporting and commentary... questioning the former president’s stability.... "
Not sure it's prudent on Jen's part to bring up presidential "stability" considering her boss' muddled performance and anger issues. Assuming, of course, that Ole Groups is her actual boss.
So Psaki references numerous people who "questioned the stability" of President Trump. Now we have numerous people who would "question the cognitive ability" of President Biden.
Why wouldn't Milley betray Biden on a "the President is Senile" theory?
It’s time for Ghandi/MLK peaceful protest marches in ALL the major cities across the USA, railing against the current regime in the WH and Congress, not to mention those imbedded in our “trusted” institutions. The truly wicked are running “the show”, in government, industry, our churches and the MSM. It is a sad state of affairs across the fruited plain. Many seem to have compromised their souls and common sense for WHAT? Certainly, not for the so called “common good” or the hopes and dreams of our Founding Fathers. No wonder Eisenhower added “under God” to our pledge of alligence back in the 50s, and warned us to “Beware the military industrial complex”. Divine intervention may be the only way we’ll be saved from ourselves, God help us!
Of course he's going to keep his job. After saving the nation from nuclear war with China he was in charge of the smoothest pull out in American history
Government functionaries who have reason to question the fitness of a President have Constitutionally approved recourse through the 25th Amendment.Failure to use that is in effect kicking the Constitution in the teeth.And I am OLD school so failure to follow precisely that procedure warrants OLD school sanctions.What is the paraphrase None dare call it treason for if it prospers it is not treason.
I'm stunned that Milley confirmed the story. It was so outrageous that I was sure it wasn't true. And Psaki's "defense" exposes how widespread this dangerous mindset is in our government.
Context? The context is Trump was the democratically elected president. The context is we have a civilian at the top of our military. The context is the Democrats didn't like him and were/are willing to destroy every check and balance in the stsem to drive out anyone who doesn't toe the Democratic line.
How is it possible that Psaki thought we'd find that explanation persuasive? Who does find it persuasive? Those are the people we need to be careful of.
"Context" is more often than not the default position when criticizing the Dems/Progressives about some issue, and they are masters at this gambit. It's never as simple as black and white -- unless the focus is on something the conservatives were alleged to do.
I]t’s important to consider some of the context... The outgoing president of the United States during this period of time [fomented] unrest leading to an insurrection and an attack on our nation’s capitol on January 6th... One of the darkest days in our nation’s history. Beyond reports in this book, there’s been widespread reporting and commentary... questioning the former president’s stability.
There is nothing in that statement that I believe to be true or accurate. If even half the people in this country feel the same as I do, then we really are at a point of divorce.
1. Milley also called off joint exercises which he had no authority to do.
2. Psaki is basically paraphrasing the official statement of the joint chiefs yesterday.
3. Where’s SecDef Esper’s take on Milley usurping his authority?
Has Milley decided Biden has dementia yet? The Interagency and the White House would like to know.
You know what is better than crazy? Corrupt.
Jen Psaki is maybe the best White House Press secretary or she is an automaton. I have never watched a person stand there without expression and lie, lie, lie. She does have a couple of nervous tics that give her away when she lies, e.g. brushing her hair back and squeezing her lips together. I had little respect for “journalists” prior to Resident Biden’s administration, but now it is in the negative numbers. Doesn’t anyone in that press room have the backbone to call these people out for what they are? I understand that they are mostly cheerleaders, but when my best friend or granddaughter lie to me, I say, “wait a minute, that’s not true.” I cannot believe what goes on in the press room and what a farce the whole thing is.. I would love to see a room full of independent citizens in those chairs asking Jen questions. People who don’t care if they are invited to the next “popular kids” cocktail party. I’m in my 70’s and I am so depressed about the current state of my country. This situation with Gen. Milley brings to mind the movie “Seven Days in May..”.
May I remind the retired Constitutional law professor of the plain text of Article Two, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America?
”The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;”
That is the first part of the opening sentence of that Clause, and I do not see where it provides room for a subordinate general officer to surreptitiously substitute his judgement for his commander’s, nor do I see where it provides for a subordinate general to conduct his own foreign policy. If he disagrees with the order he has the option to resign his commission.
It's like a page from the Obama Book of Weaseling.
When accused of something, tell the world that you've always said that this thing was (fill in the blank), and that everyone has always done it that way.
This is not a denial in anyway. It is a confirmation with embellishment to make it look like everyone knows this is how it's done and has always been done this way.
Remind me again why Michael Flynn had his life turned upside down, was bankrupted, and was sent to jail for months?
As for fomenting riots, I'm assuming that there are acceptable riots that take out hundreds of businesses, Federal buildings not in Washington DC, kill people, injure hundreds of others, and loot and destroy billions of dollars in goods and property. These acceptable riots are fomented by Democratic operatives who smile about it, use weasel phrases to show they are 'down with it', and set up public funding to get the destroyers released as soon as arrested, so they can get back to it.
Then there are non-acceptable riots fomented by people who are led by FBI operatives into attacking the Capitol building.
I'm getting very confused about right and wrong in this country. I know what I think is right and wrong. But from where I stand, those wearing the medals on their chests, those showing off smug FBI smiles when asked serious questions, those parading around the White House, DoJ, and State Department are no longer the ones who are right. They appear to me to be the ones perpetrating the wrong. Many wrongs. And they seem very...let's say- arrogant- about it all.
Why it's as if they think there's no reason to hide their disdain for us any longer.
I object to the Press Secy saying the President was crazy and offering no proof. And then she calls it an insurrection. (sigh)
Flog those narratives.
Crazy is in the eye of the beholder.
Pretty short sided to use that defense of the indefensible when you work for a guy apparently well along the road of dementia.
"We had a President that didn't act like we thought a President should. He DID things, instead of just promising them. He communicated with people via tweets, which took the media filters out of the loop. He had economic ideas that weren't what we'd been doing, which made the positive results even more unacceptable.
"For that, we thought he was crazy. We all decided that he had to be stopped, lest he show just how ineffectual and inbred our political 'elite' had become. So we resorted to the typical way to stop a President - we say he's crazy, and limited the damage he could do to our country. The status quo was being upset by a President who DID positive things, instead of just promising.
"He had to go."
But she fails to see the cognitive impairment of Slow Joe?
no moppet, the President wasn't crazy, he knew there were foreign powers which had unleashed a viral weapon, that would kill 4 million people, the Sainted Fauci gave him all sorts of doubletalk, because he was complicit in the design of said pathogen, through funding peter daszak, cheap effective therapeutics were the answer,
Do we still 6 aircraft full of US citizens waiting to take-off from Afghanistan?
This administration is generating nothing but chaos.
He should be prosecuted for Treason.
Burt Lancaster as Gen Milley in 7 Days in January. Fiction rings true. If half true, we should line Milley up at attention , break his sabre and tear off his buttons.
- one old soldier...
The Biden Administration is setting Milley up to take the fall for the Afghan Withdrawal Debacle.
Well played. “The General assured The President that the withdrawal plan would work and that all Americans would be safely evacuated and that the chances for casualties were very minimal.”
So that's the new rule? If you think the president is crazy you can go behind his back to the enemy, and you are applauded?
Good thing that no one thinks that of the current guy.
more SALIENT (?) to ask Milley : how would be describe the details of improvement between Trump and Biden administrations?
Let me see now--if I can give credence to Ms. Psaki (admittedly a very hard thing for a thinking person to do)--we had a crazy President on January 6. Crazy behind Door #1--and Senile behind Door #2. Which is worse? On balance I'll go with crazy but sentient over senile and non functioning.
They’ve worked side by side through a range of international events
She means Afghanistan?
As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Milley's job was to advise the President on military matters. He was not authorized to execute policy or command. So, if he felt the Chinese were getting nervous and therefore possibly trigger-happy, his job was to tell the President, and recommend what should be done. It certainly wasn't his job to undertake to relieve the Chinese of whatever distress they felt. That was up to the President.
So, he exceeded the scope of his authority. Firing offense. But of course anything anti-Trump must be endorsed, regardless of infringement on limits of authority.
Milley knows who he is working for and it is not the US Constitutional government. Biden is associated with the same set of paymasters. We are now passengers on a runaway train. Where it is going is a mystery.
Okay, Althouse. Your blog; your paraphrasing.
If I were to paraphrase some of the additional reporting — from reporters equally as credible as Bob Woodward — it would go like this...
Multiple sources are now reporting that Milley’s calls may have been classified, but they were hardly “secret.” There were many people who were part of the calls, following normal procedures, with the involvement of the office of the Secretary of Defense (both Secretary Esper and later Acting Secretary Miller), with the characterization of Milley’s actions as “rogue” being grossly misleading.
And yet, as I think Althouse has aimed this blog post, Jen Psaki is now one of the many people who have questioned the mental fitness of Trump in his final days as a President. I know that I would. So if and when we turn to an actual legal question, “Should we investigate Milley and these calls?”, my answer is gleefully in the affirmative. By all means, let’s investigate Milley; and be sure to include in the investigation all of the classified/executive privileged/private issues that will embarrass Trump and expose his mental unfitness.
I actually cannot think of anything juicier than a trial of Milley, with Trump as a witness under cross examination.
Remember that to members of the Hive, anyone who doesn't fall in line with the Hive's party line, is by definition "crazy." It's an old Soviet trick.
I would have asked Psaki if she thinks it would be OK for a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to second guess President Biden. After all, it's a special time now, too -- some among the world's leadership suspect that Biden is a demented old man, a puppet for other political players. Is the Biden Admin. okay with their functionaries going around them to other world leaders in order to provide "reassurance"?
If they're okay with it, well, at least they're consistent, even if they miss the importance of civilian control & a unified Executive. If not, then goose, meet gander.
The real narrative at work here is that a huge fraction of the Democratic faithful still think, in spite of no evidence even after years of investigative work & millions of dollars spent trying to find it, that Trump was a Russian plant. They can't say that in public anymore, but they still think it's so. It's not a Q-Anon kind of conspiracy theory, you understand. Why, all the best people think it's so!
I think spellcheck put in 'fidelity' when she said 'fiddling.'
Treason doth never prosper; what's the reason?
Why if it prosper, none dare call it treason!
Psaki oozes the arrogance of unearned power in her every word and gesture, which makes her the ideal spokesbitch for her bosses.
and be sure to include in the investigation all of the classified/executive privileged/private issues that will embarrass Trump and expose his mental unfitness.
Chuck, while you're being all gleeful about the prospect of Trump's inevitable humiliation, are you also ready to acknowledge that there is no scenario under current law or the Constitution in which Milley's actions are defensible?
There's a whole Constitutional amendment that covers presidential unfitness. Are you detecting a penumbra or something that permits (nay, requires, of Men of Principle) those serving under a craaaazy president to end-run around him preemptively rather than using the actual, legal tools available?
It was just yesterday that pro-marxist LLR Chuck was using a rando twitter person with anonymous sources retweeted on George "The Walrus" Conway's twitter to "validate" that Acting Secretary of Defense Miller had "approved" of Thoroughly Modern Milley's actions.
Since that transparent and hilariously hoaxed up lie has been exposed in record time, as all of pro-marxist LLR Chuck's lies always are, its time for a "fall back" with this reputable "source" of.....
.......(wait for it)..... (wait for it) ............Jen Psaki!!!
LOL!
The Drill SGT: "Burt Lancaster as Gen Milley in 7 Days in January"
"7 Days in May", with the most extraordinary effort by LCOL "Cinnamon Roll" Vindman attempting now to play the Kurt Douglas role of "Jiggs" by pointing out the irrefutable transgressions of Thoroughly Modern Milley...whose new call sign is "Rainbow Bright".
Just an observation. No military officer serving under President Trump resigned. They committed treason, and what Milley did meets the constitutional definition, or in the case of Vindman and others, gross insubordination. And they are all protected.
Up to two now resigned or equivalent, THAT WE KNOW OF , under Biden. Officer retention is way down, as well as initial and reenlistment among enlisted personnel.
Beyond reports in this book, there’s been widespread reporting and commentary... questioning the former president’s stability.
Bolding added. Completely agree with 99% of what's been posted earlier (aside from Chuck Quixote) and feel like the bolded bit needs, well, bolding. There has been commentary that the US never landed on the moon. There has been commentary that Elvis lived after the reporting of his death and became a cross-country trucker. There has been commentary that if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. Lots of commentary over the years, all of it opinion based on the interpretation by and intention of speaker or writer. I understand that she was speaking extemporaneously and we all can make verbal mistakes in that situation, but she had to have been prepared for those (admittedly softball) questions and still managed to package "reporting" with "commentary". Telling of multiple strains of thought that combine to inform us she, and by proxy the administration, believe in and adhere to the "some have suggested" way of smearing people. Obvious, I know, but damning all the same.
And you needn't be a Trump supporter or anti-Biden to want better for the country. This was supposed to be a return to competence. Does anyone want to argue that's what we got?
I actually cannot think of anything juicier than a trial of Milley, with Trump as a witness under cross examination.
Why would Trump be under cross examination? Milley was being secret! He wasn't telling Trump that he was calling China to tell them he was in charge and not to worry? Do you think Trump ordered the code red?
The Drill SGT said...
Burt Lancaster as Gen Milley in 7 Days in January. Fiction rings true. If half true, we should line Milley up at attention , break his sabre and tear off his buttons.
- one old soldier...
We should give him a gun with one bullet next to it and an hour to save us the trouble.
It would be good if some of this “stray voltage” that the 0bama Mouse Club members often speak of could be harnessed and applied to some of the hebetudinous commenters here, much as is done with minks to garner their precious fur.
"I actually cannot think of anything juicier than a trial of Milley, with Trump as a witness under cross examination."
Okay, Perry Mason, what exactly did Trump witness? He was specifically kept out of the loop, so that he had no knowledge whatsoever what Milley was doing. He even said he didn't believe Woodward's account was true. What would be the hook to get him in the witness chair at a courts martial? Would he be called by the prosecution to give testimony on a subject of which he had no knowledge, concerning a plot that he he didn't know about, perpetrated by a renegade officer who was was supposed to act as his advisor but was instead illegally conducting foreign policy and acting as the head of a small secret (from him) cabal without authority? And what would he be cross examined on? Non-testimony about facts of which he had no knowledge? Exactly what would the traitorous general use as his own defense? That Trump was crazy? What, specifically did Trump do that convinced him that Trump was insane? Would he base his diagnosis of Trump's insanity on? What are his qualifications for such a diagnosis? Where in the constitution does it give a military officer, one who commands no troops and who's only job is to advise the president, the authority to act on the nation's behalf whether he believes the president is capable or not? Shouldn't he have gone to the vice president and the cabinet and presented his case for why the 25th amendment needed to be employed to remove a duly elected president less than two weeks before his term of office was over, as is the proper procedure? And, if he did go to the people who were legally empowered to act, what specifically would he allege? That the president was going to start a war? What evidence did Milley have to show that Trump, the antiwar president, was preparing to launch a nuclear attack on China? Does Perry Mason even know what the process is for a nuclear launch? I do. I had a command that carried nuclear weapons and I know exactly what the process is so I know that a president cannot launch anything without going through the national command authority and that authority communicating with the specific field commands being ordered to conduct such an attack. A president can't just go rouge and, as incompetent as Milley is, even he knew that. Besides, how would he be able to communicate to China that an attack was incoming if the military command structure was not involved?
Those are all rhetorical questions, Chuck, I know you are just ranting and bullshitting like always. BTW, what correspondence school awarded you a law degree?
From Chuck: I actually cannot think of anything juicier than a trial of Milley, with Trump as a witness under cross examination.
And a response: Why would Trump be under cross examination? Milley was being secret!
Why, because if Trump was craaazy, then he'd have to defend himself against the utterly righteous actions of defendants Milley et al. That's how the law works, right? If your victim is craaaazy, then whatever you do to him is cool and you're off the hook!
Doubly so if we're taking about a craaaazy President and your actions constitute the setup for a coup!
[Psaki]: "His experience with him has been that he is a patriot"
***********************
What horseshit.
Benedict Arnold was the "Hero of Fort Ticonderoga"---until he went over to the British.
It should be pointed out that, although Psaki in effect applauds Milley for having decided it was appropriate for him to usurp the president's authority as commander in chief -- in clear violation of the U.S. Constitution that Milley took an oath to uphold and defend -- Milley was absolutely wrong in assessing the threat that Trump supposedly posed. Trump did not, in fact, attempt to launch a precipitous military attack on China or any other country after the election. If he had done anything "crazy" like that, it would STILL have been seditious for Milley to have stopped him on his own supposed authority; but it never happened anyway.
I thought the second eviction moratorium was a pretty serious assault on the Constitution, but this really takes the cake. Biden is essentially supporting a doctrine that says that the mere suspicion that a president may undertake a military action that is not supported by the top brass at the Pentagon entitles those top brass to refuse to execute the president's orders and to warn the other nation's military of what the president is trying to do. Moreover, per the Biden Doctrine, the officers who deign to this extraconstitutional authority to usurp the president's authority do not have to answer for it in any way. IOW, no checks and balances.
As mentioned already, this right now is a “special time” with a uniquely disabled Chief Executive so what adult will say the right thing now? As a side note, the term chuckquixotic is highly descriptive and a fresh take!
Milley was just protecting his precious bodily fluids.
This administration is treasonous and otherwise criminal as well as incompetent. Evidently, Milley committed treason or at least some other offense and Biden and Co.are committing misprision, BUT TRUMP.
By now can any serious person think these scumbags would have hesitated to steal an election to get rid of Trump. That is not to say they did, but only to dispel the absurd assertion that it was beyond them.
Starring Donald Trump as General Ripper, General Milloy as President Muffley and special guest stars Mike Lindell as Dr. Strangelove and Rudy Giuliani as Bucky Turgidson.
Robert Marshall said...
As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Milley's job was to advise the President on military matters. He was not authorized to execute policy or command.
Milley apparently told people, that in order to launch missiles; HIS authorization was needed, along with the President's
I wish someone would have asked him if
A) he thought the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was IN the chain of command?
B) he thought he knew about the Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act?
First she vouches, on behalf of the president, for Milley's personal integrity.
Then she argues for mitigation (context), not innocence.
He's gone would be my bet.
Also -
"The outgoing president of the United States during this period of time formented unrest leading to an insurrection and an attack on our nation's capitol on January 6th, which we've all, you all have covered extensively, of course."
She looked down and read that from a prepared statement. So carefully written - "formented unrest leading to." Althousian, even.
Also, "we've all" was a slip.
Why would Trump be under cross examination? Milley was being secret! He wasn't telling Trump that he was calling China to tell them he was in charge and not to worry? Do you think Trump ordered the code red?
"Chuck" is a hammer and Trump looks like a nail to him.
What if THE PRESIDENT WAS planning to attack Communist China when Milley decided to notify them?
Or, suppose a staffer contacts ISIS or the Taliban to warn of a possible strike by the U.S., justifying it on a belief that any president against ISIS or the Taliban is nothing more than a racist Islamaphobe and is mentally unstable. What would we call such action? Patriotism or espionage/treason?
How long will we have to wait to read the transcripts of those calls? I imagine they will read like something out of the Dr. Strangelove war room scenes.
General Miley’s assurances to his Chinese counterpart weren’t treasonous if Trump, as he claims, wasn’t even considering attacking China. Even if Trump were planning a sneak attack, Miley’s assurances weren’t treasonous. He wasn’t tipping off the Chinese, as our intelligence said their military was quite worried about an attack. Reducing those worries is just what you would want if you were planning a sneak attack. It would only be treasonous if Milley followed up on his assurance and called the Chinese to warn of the actual attack.
Would Milley have done that with the lives of Americans on the line? Or would Milley have fought Trump in the manner of Denzel Washington against Gene Hackman in Crimson Tide? We’ll never know as it never came to that. But those of you who think Joe Biden is senile and demented, don’t you want Milley there in case he needs to reign Biden in? I guess you don’t think Old Joe is all that senile and demented, Noted.
Look -- the fact is that most of the federal bureaucracy, a majority of Congress, and almost the entirety of the mainstream media NEVER considered Donald Trump to be "the president." From the very first day in office, he was never acknowledged as holding or being entitled to the office of the president and the various prerogatives thereto.
It was, in fact, a four-year unending coup against him. He was NEVER fully president. He was, instead, merely Trump.
Consequently, they could, and did, tell him to get lost, that they did not need to respect him at all, ever.
The source declaring Trump "crazy" was Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. I'd love to see the glass house she lives in, before all the windows are broken by her thrown stones.
I seem to remember something about an ambassador telling Iraq that the US had no "interest" in a border dispute between Iraq and Kuwait, and that led to a presumably unintended war.
What could possibly go wrong with a US general telling China that he would warn China of US military action before it happened?
Left Bank of the Charles said...
How long will we have to wait to read the transcripts of those calls? I imagine they will read like something out of the Dr. Strangelove war room scenes.
General Miley’s assurances to his Chinese counterpart weren’t treasonous if Trump, as he claims, wasn’t even considering attacking China. Even if Trump were planning a sneak attack, Miley’s assurances weren’t treasonous. He wasn’t tipping off the Chinese, as our intelligence said their military was quite worried about an attack. Reducing those worries is just what you would want if you were planning a sneak attack. It would only be treasonous if Milley followed up on his assurance and called the Chinese to warn of the actual attack.
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You give new meaning to the term "irrelevant and convoluted logic". The POINT is, Milley violated the chain of command and his OATH, no matter what he intended.
Here's his sworn oath:
I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."
Two violations, right there.
We all remember you and your leftnoid hypocrites supporting the ridiculous charge that RETIRED General Flynn violated the Logan Act when he talked to his Soviet counterpart during the Obama-Trump transition, something that had been a common practice.
Pathetic.
Howard said...
Starring Donald Trump as General Ripper, General Milloy as President Muffley and special guest stars Mike Lindell as Dr. Strangelove and Rudy Giuliani as Bucky Turgidson.
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With Howard reprising his role as Slim Pickens on Althouse:
("What in the wide, wide world of sports are you talkin' about, Althouse?")
When it comes to "crazy," there's nothing crazier than being a "liberal," socialist or some other variety of State-fellators
Believing in and trusting your future to a mass murderer and kleptomaniac is as sane as having Albert Fish* as your baby sitter.
*My own tribute to the late, great Norm MacDonald.
'What if THE PRESIDENT WAS planning to attack Communist China when Milley decided to notify them?'
Or more disturbing, Milley notifies the Chicoms that Trump is unstable and might attack them.
They're no dummies...maybe they'd think it was better if they attacked us first.
A lot of bad scenarios..
It was, in fact, a four-year unending coup against him. He was NEVER fully president. He was, instead, merely Trump.
As Trump said to the 75 million people who voted from him, "It is you they hate. I'm just in the way."
"I actually cannot think of anything juicier than a trial of Milley, with Trump as a witness under cross examination."
What I find interesting about this sentiment is that it is so focused on embarrassing* Trump, that it misses the point that a general took it upon himself (without any civilian consultation) to go around the his commander in chief and conspire with a foreign power. I guess it's ok to put a match to the constitution if Orange the Clown is involved.
As to "was he crazy" question, I do believe there was hysteria involved with the last days of his presidency. Unfortunately, the insanity was with his political enemies. They are the ones who called a bunch of dumb ass idiots an "insurrection." They were the ones who decided to impeach the guy as he was leaving office
And they are the ones who think conspiring with foreign powers is just nifty if the general doesn't like who the American people put into the oval office.
Trump is guilty of a shit load of sins, but being a war monger isn't one of them. He consistently avoided new conflicts wherever possible (mostly because of his own limitations as a wartime president) and used bluster (his favorite weapon) where others might have used military force. No, he wasn't about to start WWIII.
*Those who think Trump is even remotely capable of embarrassment haven't been paying attention.
effinayright (to Left Bank): "You give new meaning to the term "irrelevant and convoluted logic"."
Oh, that's nothing.
Left Bank's performance over the last 5 years twisting false narratives into pretzel shapes in order to somehow give credence to every long ago debunked hoax involving trump/russia collusion/money laundering/alpha bank/Flynn setup/Carter Page setup/ (the list here would easily have over 100 entries if written out) set a standard that almost, almost, rivals pro-marxist LLR Chuck's serial lies over that same time period.
Almost.
I'm amused, by which I mean horrified, at how the lefties on this block are singing in harmony. Every one of them has used the "You all should be glad there are military people like Milley if you really think that Joe Biden is suffering from dementia" non-defense. Guys! Your expediency is showing!
Does none of you have the basic civic knowledge to admit that if the story is as reported, Milley was doing something contrary to all prior norms, his constitutional authority, and the Uniform Code?
I have to second the comment above about whether this event, and Democrat reactions to it ranging from blog commenters all the way up to the current president of the United States, as represented by his spokeswoman, has changed anyone's mind about the moral capability of the left to use carefully targeted fraud to steal an election.
Because if it just came down to the physical capability, we all know that they set up the rules pre-election to make it possible.
"Even if Trump were planning a sneak attack.."
This is just silly, enough to make me LMAO. Just how does Trump do this? Who is he planning it with if not with the Joint Chiefs and every high level general and admiral at the Pentagon? Calling up Guard units, positioning ships and aircraft, accumulating and moving munitions and supplies, hardening and preparing defenses, etc. In all my 70 years this is the most absurd and ridiculous story to come out of DC. It surely makes Pelosi and Milley look like idiots. It is really scary that we have people like this in the highest levels of our government.
Every traitor claims he was being a patriot.
It would be sad if it wasn’t so goddam hilarious, lol.
Which part of his oath did General Milley violate? The part where he swore to support and defend the Constitution which grants the power to declare war to Congress and not to the President? Or the part where he swore to obey orders from the President, according to regulations and the UCMJ which only require that lawful orders be obeyed? General Milley seems to have threaded the needle quite well.
My favorite Left Bank was the credulous claim there was nothing suspicious in Burisma paying Hunter Biden $80k/month.
LBotC said--
"Which part of his oath did General Milley violate?"
To steal, a phrase, yes, some commenters really are this stupid.
What does the power to declare war have to do with this? What unlawful orders were actually given?
You either haven't read what others have posted or are too dim or partisan to understand any of it.
Your needle theory belongs with the penumbra and emanation school of constitutionality.
effingaright, Mulley did not take the oath you quoted. I’ve raised my right hand several times to take it .
His was: I ___, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
A bit of a difference. He’s still in violation of the oath he swore to.
wait ... how come has no one figured out that Trump would be commandeering RUSSIAN ARMAMENTS for his sneak freak attack with PUTINS BLESSINGS
@Left Bank, before you comment on the UCMJ, it would be helpful if you read and understood the UCMJ.
"Which part of his oath did General Milley violate?"
The part about protecting and defending the Constitution, which states that the President is the Commander and Chief, not some self aggrandizing general who thinks he's the star of his own Tom Clancy novel. Also, conspiring with a foreign power is not the same as refusing an unlawful order. This is especially true since no such order was ever given. This ass clown decided to create his own foreign policy, then fucked up the Afghan withdrawal. Resigning is the least he can do.
“General Miley’s assurances to his Chinese counterpart weren’t treasonous if Trump, as he claims, wasn’t even considering attacking China.”
Really? So General Milley’s agreement to apprise the ChiComs of an imminent attack wasn’t treasonous although his position also rendered his silence assurance that there was no attack in the offing. So warning that there would be an attack could be treasonous, but informing the enemy ongoingly by silence that no attack is in the offing is benign.
I see.
Chris Lopes said...
This ass clown decided to create his own foreign policy,
don't forget the Logan act! People were All the time talking about violations of The Logan Act
HERE YOU GO! Here's your violation of the Logan act!!
The only circumstances I can think of that the US would nuke China would be if they invaded Taiwan. Was Milley signaling China that they were free to take Taiwan? Probably not, and it was very unlikely that China would make a move on the island, but still, the story is strange.
Probably Milley was thinking that Trump was unstable. Maybe Pelosi and others encouraged his suspicions about Trump. But if Trump were unbalanced and lashing out, why would he go after China? Wouldn't he concentrate on enemies closer to home?
Maybe China planted the idea of an attack in Milley's mind. Maybe it was a psychological operation: encourage distrust between American factions, as well as between the military and civilian authority, and also use Milley's reaction to get analyze his personality, his role in the hierarchy, and the dynamics of the American political system today.
Or did Milley come up with the idea of a strike on China himself and obsess about Trump making one? Wouldn't that make him the unstable one?
Something is missing in the story. Many things are. Maybe investigations will fill in the gaps. Maybe we'll never know what really happened.
Milley should have warned the Afghani that he and his family were about to be bombed by a drone sent by the armed forces commanded by a demented president, Biden.
Slightly OT, but Mark Steyn yesterday answered a question from a reader about how his "Thoroughly Modern Milley" was now being used all over the place, and was he getting royalties for it? This caused Steyn to go into an interesting question: What makes a parody song parodistic? A slight digression into how Van Heusen had written the original lyrics, gave them to Cahn for music, and then when Cahn's music came back with little interstitial twiddles between lines, Van Heusen had added lyrics to those too.
But, Steyn said, the point of a parody song is that there has to be some parodic point. You couldn't do the same thing with Gen. Milley and, say, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" or "Eye of the Tiger" or whatever. There has to be a hook, and in this particular case the hook was the contrast between the stout, stern, imposing, much-beribboned Milley and the screamingly camp number that included his name. That's why it was funny.
MadisonMan said...
"I object to the Press Secy saying the President was crazy and offering no proof."
Exhibit 1
"The county has, for whatever reason, also refused to produce the network routers. We want the routers, Sonny, Wendy, we got to get those routers, please. The routers. Come on, Kelly, we can get those routers. Those routers. You know what? We're so beyond the routers, there's so many fraudulent votes without the routers. But if you got those routers, what that will show, and they don't want to give up the routers. They don't want to give them. They are fighting like hell. Why are these commissioners fighting not to give the routers?"
Again: the Hive's definition of crazy is not becoming the Hive's docile serf. You can demonstrate your sanity by dropping your pants, bending over, and asking, "How deep, sire?"
Thinking this through again and remembering that everyone is largely talking about Woodward's spin on these conversations since AFAIK we don't have transcripts or other verbatim material to review, I'm going back to a middle of the road stance.
Milley had these meetings and conversations. That's why the denials aren't denials that the conversations took place. He and the various spokespeople can't do that without creating an even bigger mess.
My take is the substance of the conversations was quite different than we are being told. Psucky and the rest of the Democrats want the substance of the conversations spun the way it was in Woodward's book that Trump was nuts and threatening to start a war in a vain attempt to stay in power.
I expect the actual substance of the conversations was more along the lines of "A lot of people are going to be asking for comment on various things they claim President Trump is secretly planning to do. Make no comments and take no actions without vetting them through me." Similarly to the Chinese, "Your spies and sources are going to be hearing a lot of scuttlebutt. Our force posture is not changing and President Trump is in control until 20 January, nobody else."
That substance doesn't further the Democrat narrative of Trump the Lunatic fomenting Insurrection and being heroically constrained by the rational and benevolent Deep State. The support for Milley is predicated on him keeping his mouth shut that he was actually privately warning people that the very public announcements from *Democrats* about Trump's mental state and possible actions should not be believed.
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