The Conduct of Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley: The Case Against President Donald Trump’s Order to Kill a General Soleimani

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Pentagon’s inspector general to investigate the “conduct” of retired Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley — who at times clashed with President Trump during his first term — and determine whether it’s appropriate he should be reduced in rank from his current four stars.

General Milley and other former Trump administration officials still face deadly threats from Iran because of President Trump’s order to kill Iranian General Soleimani. “It is unconscionable and recklessly negligent for President Trump and Secretary Hegseth to revoke General Milley’s security detail for their own political satisfaction. The Administration has placed Milley and his family in grave danger, and they have an obligation to immediately restore his federal protection.”

The decision to remove Milley from his security detail was lambasted by a member of the Senate.

Civil military experts say comments like that could get Milley in trouble. Military law states that it is illegal for a commissioned officer to make contemptuous words against a senior official.

At times, Milley and others convinced Trump to change course on policy. Trump wanted the U.S. troops in Syria to leave in the fall of 2017, but Milley persuaded him to keep a small army in the country to work with Kurdish forces and against the Islamic State.

Trump chose Milley, then the Army’s top officer, to be his principal military advisor over Goldfein, who was in charge of the Air Force. Trump seemed to agree with Milley’s outspoken ways and boisterous demeanor. It deteriorated just like it did with Trump and other retired generals, like Mattis and John Kelly.

Right after the George Floyd protests in June 2020, Milley walked with Trump from the White House through Lafayette Square, where law enforcement, aided by National Guard troops, forcibly removed demonstrators. At the time, Milley was wearing camouflage fatigues. As Trump headed through the square to St. John’s Episcopal Church, carrying a bible, Milley peeled off and chatted with National Guard forces, seemingly not wanting to appear in what was clearly a political event. Milley later issued an emotional apology at National Defense University, that officials say incensed Trump.

“As many of you saw, the result of the photograph of me at Lafayette Square last week — that sparked a national debate about the role of the military in civil society,” Milley said in a video address. I should not have been there. My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics. I hope we all can learn from the mistake that I made as a commissioned uniformed officer. We who wear the cloth of our nation come from the people of our nation, and we must hold dear the principle of an apolitical military that is so deeply rooted in the very essence of our Republic.”

During this time, Milley reassured Chinese officials that Trump wouldn’t attack Beijing during his final weeks in office. Milley has said that call was coordinated with then Defense Secretary Mark Esper and other administration officials, but Trump later said such calls “an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.” Officials tell NPR the call already has been investigated and nothing came of it.

Milley urged those in uniform to fight against foreign and domestic enemies of the Constitution, using the words “all” and “and.”

Milley made a reference to Trump, saying we don’t take an oath to a dictator. “We don’t take an oath to an individual. We’re willing to die to protect America when we take an oath to the constitution and our idea of America.

“No one has ever been as dangerous to the country as Donald Trump,” the general told Woodward. He’s a fascist now. He is the most dangerous person in the country.

The Pentagon is Undermining the Chain of Command: A Defense Attorney Attempt to Charge a Former Army Sergeant with Inappropriate Sexual Acts

Former President Biden provided pre-emptive pardons to Milley and others, and that applies to federal and military law. Hegseth seems to be trying to get Milley through administration efforts.

Civil military experts say it’s unusual, maybe even unprecedented, to investigate a former senior officer for conduct that alleges “undermining the chain of command.”

Peter Feaver is a professor at Duke University who says that it’s unusual for a president to punish his own appointees after the fact.

The author of a recent book on US politics said that the Trump administration could be trying to silence any dissent with the Pentagon’s move.

There are rare times when senior retired officers are recalled to active duty for criminal probes. Back in 2017, Air Force General Arthur Lichte was demoted from four stars to two stars and forfeited $5,000 a month in retirement pay after investigators found he engaged in inappropriate sexual acts while in uniform.

At the Pentagon, efforts were made to distance the Department from Milley’s legacy prior to Hegseth’s orders. Within hours of President Trump taking the oath of office last week, a recently installed portrait of General Milley was removed from the walls of one of the building’s corridors.