Liz Cheney defends Gen. Milley against fellow Republicans [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Rep. Liz Cheney apologized to Gen. Mark Milley on Wednesday for “despicable” questioning from her fellow Republicans.
• Cheney called out her GOP colleagues for questioning the top military general’s loyalty to the US constitution.
• The Wyoming Republican also called out her colleagues for not standing up to Trump while thanking Milley for doing so.

Rep. Liz Cheney on Wednesday called out her GOP colleagues over their recent attacks on Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

During a congressional hearing regarding Afghanistan, Cheney lashed out at her fellow Republicans for whitewashing the January 6 insurrection and supporting former President Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was rigged.

The Wyoming congresswoman criticized Republicans who’ve questioned Milley’s loyalty to the US constitution and to the country, calling it ‘despicable.” 

“General Milley you found yourself in your constitutionally prescribed role, standing in the breach,” Cheney said. “And for any member of this committee for any American to question your loyalty to our nation to question your understanding of our Constitution, your loyalty to our Constitution, your recognition and understanding of the civilian chain of command is despicable.”

“I want to thank you for standing in the breach, when so many, including many in this room, fail to do so,” she added.

The GOP has ousted Cheney from her leadership post as conference chair in May for not accepting Trump’s claim that the election was stolen from him.

Along these lines, Cheney and Milley are in many ways in the same boat in terms of facing an onslaught of attacks from Trump and his allies. 

Milley, who became the top US general during the Trump administration and continues to serve in that role under President Joe Biden, has been heavily cited in a number of recent tell-all books on the Trump era. This has prompted rampant criticism among GOP lawmakers, given these books don’t paint Trump in a particularly flattering light. 

Republicans have been particularly irate over conversations Milley had with his Chinese counterparts during Trump’s final days in the White House, which were detailed in Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s new book, “Peril.” Milley at the time sought to assure the Chinese that Trump would not spark a war on his way out of office.

A number of Republicans have called on Milley to resign during hearings on Afghanistan this week. Meanwhile, Milley has fervently defended his conversations with the Chinese, saying that he believed he was “faithfully executing the intent of the president … because I knew with certainty that President Trump was not going to attack the Chinese just out of the blue.”

Source: Business Insider