Republican Cheney offers strong defense of Milley, invokes Jan. 6 Capitol riot By Reuters

By Patricia Zengerle and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Consultant Liz Cheney supplied a convincing protection on Wednesday of Basic Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Employees, praising him for “standing within the breach” within the aftermath of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol and drawing a distinction with a few of her fellow Republicans.

Milley has spent a lot of the previous two days keeping off usually private assaults from Republicans throughout acrimonious hearings on the withdrawal from Afghanistan over his calls with China and interviews for books important of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Many members of the Senate and Home Armed Providers committees devoted their time to questions on Milley’s interviews with Bob Woodward (NASDAQ:) and different authors reasonably than to the 20-year U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, and its chaotic and lethal finish final month.

A number of requested why Milley had not resigned, and one steered that if he had been in China, he could be shot.

Cheney, one in every of solely two Republicans on a choose committee investigating the January assault, apologized to Milley whereas criticizing those that tried to “whitewash” the riot.

“It was an effort to cease the constitutionally prescribed strategy of counting electoral votes. It was the primary time in our nation’s historical past we didn’t have a peaceable switch of energy,” Cheney stated.

A mob of supporters of Republican then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 as then-Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers met to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.

One in every of Milley’s calls to his Chinese language counterpart, Basic Li Zuocheng, passed off on Jan. 8, as Washington reeled from the affect of the unprecedented assault, by which 4 individuals died and greater than 100 cops had been injured. Lawmakers, workers and journalists fled in concern for his or her lives. One Capitol Police officer died of his accidents the subsequent day.

Milley stated he known as Li to de-escalate tensions, citing intelligence exhibiting China was involved concerning the threat of assault from a destabilized United States.

After the riot, eight Republican senators and 139 representatives, together with a number of Armed Service committee members, nonetheless solid votes objecting to the election.

Cheney stated many U.S. officers had did not do their obligation.

“For any member of this committee, for any American to query your loyalty to our nation, to query your understanding of our Structure, your loyalty to our Structure, your recognition and understanding of the civilian chair of command is despicable,” Cheney instructed Milley.

“I need to apologize for these members of this committee who’ve achieved so,” Cheney stated. “And I need to thanks for standing within the breach, when so many, together with many on this room, failed to take action.”