Former Trump Acting SecDef Christopher Miller Is A Real Piece Of Sh*t, We Mean Work
HE REGRETS NOTHING.
Yesterday, the House Oversight Committee hosted two former Trump Administration officials who were "serving" the people on the day of the January 6 Capitol terrorist attack Donald Trump incited. It was Christopher Miller, the dude Trump shoved in as (acting) secretary of Defense, and Jeffrey Rosen, who became (acting) attorney general after Bill Barr was quit-fired.
In this post we'll focus on Miller's testimony, and the only nice thing we can find to say about it is that he at least did agree that the January 6 attack was terrorism. The rest of the time he was just absolutely full of shit and a coward.
One moment really stuck out in that regard.
In Miller's prepared remarks, he said he stood by previous statements where he blamed Trump's comments for "encourag[ing] the protesters that day." We assume he prepared his remarks to the Senate the previous night, or maybe over the weekend. But when it came time for him to say words out loud to the Senate, he just skipped that line! Maybe he saw what happened to Liz Cheney yesterday and he was scared.
That led to this amazing exchange where Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch openly called Miller "ridiculous," as in "you're ridiculous."
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) goes after former acting Defense Sec. Christopher Miller for taking back his written stat… https: //t.co/vOpvJdqggi
— The Recount (@The Recount) 1620833470.0
Lynch wanted to know once and for all if Trump had incited the violence. Miller said Trump "clearly offered that they should march on the Capitol," but suddenly he sees a difference between the innocent "marching" Trump told them to do and the "terrorizing" they ended up doing.
Some transcript from Politico:
"I think now I would say that is not the unitary factor at all…I have reassessed," Miller said. "It seems clear there was an organized assault element in place that was going to assault regardless of what the president said."
As for Trump's responsibility? Oh, he's just "reassessed" his thoughts on that! Between writing his opening remarks and saying them? Fuck you, asshole.
When Lynch noted Miller's sudden flip-flop, Miller denied it, saying, "Absolutely not. That's ridiculous."
To which Lynch yelled back, "YOU'RE RIDICULOUS."
Both Miller and Rosen testified that at no point during that day did they try to get in touch with the president, because it was fine, they had all the authorities they needed to do the things they needed to do that day.
And what did they need to do? What was their job? This exchange between Miller and GOP Rep. Byron Donalds was revelatory, as Miller testified that on January 3, three days before the attack, when Trump heard of a request from DC Mayor Muriel Bowser for a beefed up National Guard presence for January 6, Trump's directive was to "Do whatever was necessary to protect the demonstrators that were executing their constitutionally protected rights."
You know, like he did for Black people tired of getting murdered by police-Nazis last summer.
Wow https: //t.co/92K3ULobDd
— Acyn (@Acyn) 1620846283.0
And as for why there wasn't heavier troop presence on the day? Why he wasn't able to protect the Capitol? Well, it was the MEDIA'S fault, because they were making HYSTERIA about COUPS, therefore he just couldn't send the troops in too quickly. (Does he mean the kind of coup his boss was trying to undertake to overturn the results of the election he lost, based on his Big Lie? Because that's the only coup that happened that day, asshole .)
Here's some video of Miller bitching and moaning about "irresponsible commentary by the media about a possible military coup."
here's former Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller blaming "irresponsible commentary by the media" for secur… https: //t.co/v0bdsLT9Nm
— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1620831356.0
Miller said that "No such thing was going to occur on my watch, but these concerns, and hysteria about them" — the HYSTERIA! — "nonetheless factored into my decisions regarding the appropriate and limited use of our Armed Forces to support civilian law enforcement during the Electoral College certification." He said he stands by "every decision" he made that day. He regrets nothing .
And why is he so confident in his decision-making skills under pressure? Uh, well, uh ... let's go to the prepared remarks!
I have been in more crisis situations than I can meaningfully recall. I have personally been in riots, fist fights and brawls, gun fights, aircraft mishaps, mortared, rocketed, attacked with Improvised Explosive Devices and, as a leader, I have commanded forces engaged in the most complex and hazardous military activities and operations known to humankind.
He's been in fist fights and brawls, y'all.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna was extremely not amused by all of this, and it will make you feel better to watch him yell at Miller.
"I can't believe we had someone like you in that role ... it's total self-promotion. All you're trying to do is cov… https: //t.co/oCJ7C82QQe
— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1620836763.0
KHANNA: I have never been more offended on this committee by a witness statement than yours. You were more concerned about defending your own reputation and justifying your own actions than the sanctity of this Capitol and the sanctity of our democracy. Have you no sense of accountability? No sense of shame? Secretary Miller, I want to ask you today, will you at the very least apologize to the American public for what happened on your watch?
Miller tried to pull some bullshit where he ignored Khanna's question and instead lavished praise on the troops, but Khanna wasn't into it. "Your pugnacious style is not going to override the democratic process," said Khanna. "Learn to respect it." Khanna wanted to know about Miller's "incompetence," and wanted to know if Miller would apologize to America and the troops for what happened on his watch. Miller just stonewalled and deflected and kept saying he regrets NOTHING. Khanna continued to read him for filth.
Seriously, watch those Khanna videos, they are great.
As for other Democrats yelling at Miller for his brazen incompetence and his refusal to take any responsibility for the lack of troop response to the literal terrorist attack his former boss incited , Politico's got some other highlights:
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) seemed angry about Miller's stance.
"It's almost like the military saying, 'Sure, we lost the battle, but we carried out our plan perfectly,'" Quigley said. "I had colleagues saying, when does the f-ing cavalry get here? You lost and you don't have the intestinal fortitude to own up to your part of the responsibility."
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) suggested Miller was shifting his position to curry favor with Trump. "Maybe the wrath of Donald Trump came down upon you," she said. "That is disgusting."
Sounds about right.
What an absolute coward.
Speaking of cowards — and also seditionists! — in our next post we will focus on the worst, most ridiculous Republicans on the Oversight Committee, which is all of them, brazenly defending the terrorists and insisting no insurrection even happened on January 6.
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There may not be any place for fist-fighting' and street fighting Mick Jagger in sleepy London town but the US Congress seems to have plenty of bandwidth for ass-coverin', no regrets Christopher Miller.
Because they're all complicit.