Now, just imagine this had occurred in the latter days of the Obama administration: how would the media react? You’re barely finding the issue in most news outlets
Sen. Marco Rubio Urges President Joe Biden to Fire Gen. Mark Milley
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has called for the resignation of General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, following reports that he planned to undermine President Trump and inform China of an impending attack following the Capitol Hill riot on January 6.
In a letter released on Tuesday, Rubio urged President Joe Biden to “dismiss†Mark Milley immediately, charging that he undermined the former Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces by planning to commit treason.
I write with grave concern regarding recent reporting that General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, worked to actively undermine the sitting Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces and contemplated a treasonous leak of classified information to the Chinese Communist Party in advance of a potential armed conflict with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). These actions by General Milley demonstrate a clear lack of sound judgement, and I urge you to dismiss him immediately.
According to the upcoming book Peril by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, Milley worried President Trump would “go rogue†and orchestrated two back-channel phone calls with China’s top general promising to inform him an attack on the Communist country were to commence.
“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. It’s not going to be a surprise,†Milley reportedly told his Chinese counterpart.
In his letter, Rubio stressed that Milley interfered with America’s civilian-controlled military, which could possibly “lead to war.â€
Miley should neither be fired or allowed to resign. That would be the easy way out. It would allow Milley to keep his rank and pension. Milley violated the law. He violated the Constitution. He violated his oath of office and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Any lower ranking officer would be charged, arrested, and tried. And, if convicted, would be stripped of rank, sent to jail, and given a dishonorable discharge upon completion of the sentence, with a loss of all pension. The higher the rank, the more responsible, and the higher the penalty.
I do not need to tell of you the dangers posed by senior military officers leaking classified information on U.S. military operations, but I will underscore that such subversion undermines the President’s ability to negotiate and leverage one of this nation’s instruments of national power in his interactions with foreign nations.
Even more egregiously, reports indicate that General Milley interfered with the procedures by which the civilian commander-in-chief can order a nuclear strike. He purportedly instructed officials not to take orders without his involvement and forced them to take an oath to that effect. A senior military officer interfering with that civilian-controlled process is simply unacceptable at best, and at worst, would cause ambiguity which could lead to war.
No resignation, no firing. Prosecution. Government officials need to be held accountable for their actions. Too often we’ve seen those in Power let off the hook, with few, if any, consequences.
Read: Marco Rubio Calls For Biden To Fire General Milley: He’s 100% Wrong »