Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby acted shocked during a Wednesday briefing when a reporter repeated former President Donald Trump’s claim that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley committed “treason” if recent allegations were true.
The allegations against Milley were revealed Tuesday in the excerpt of the book “Peril” written by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. (RELATED: CNN Guest Claims Senior Official Hoped Trump Would Chain Himself To The Resolute Desk To Show ‘Serious Mental Decline’)
Milley reportedly made two secret phone calls to his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army, in which he assured the general that he would provide advanced warning if the U.S. were to take military action against China. The book also alleges that Milley held a meeting at the Pentagon two days after the Capitol riot where he instructed top officials to check with him before following Trump’s orders if the former president was to order a nuclear launch.
Trump said that if the allegations made in the book were true, Milley should be put on trial for treason.
“Oh, my goodness!” Kirby said in response.
“I can’t speak to processes before this administration took off, I just can’t, as much as I know you’d like me to, I just can’t do that,” he told the reporter. “What I’m telling you is typically that when the chairman or the secretary, they interact with their counterparts, it’s a function of the job. They have to do that.”
Kirby said Wednesday that “nothing” in the report causes “any concern.” Milley has denied any wrongdoing.