Former President Donald Trump’s last acting secretary of defense has denied Trump’s claims that he asked for thousands of National Guard troops to be stationed at the Capitol ahead of the January 6, 2021 riot.
“There was no direct, no order from the president,” Christopher Miller said in a video of his testimony released Tuesday by the House special committee investigating last year’s violence.
Miller also denied a suggestion by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in February 2021 that 10,000 National Guard troops were on standby before January 6.
“I never received any instructions or orders, nor did I know of any such plans,” Miller said. “So I was surprised to see this publicly, but I don’t know the context or even where it was.”
The former acting Pentagon chief added that there were plans to activate more troops, but “this is nothing more than contingency planning.”
When Miller was asked directly by an investigator whether he had been given an order to have 10,000 troops on standby on January 6, he replied: “A non-military person could probably have some strange interpretation, but no. The answer to your question is no.
Christopher Miller testified that President Donald Trump did not request that National Guard troops be stationed at the Capitol ahead of his rally on January 6, 2021. Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images In his testimony, Miller said there were no direct orders from the president for the national Guard troops. AP Photo/Julio Cortez
Trump has repeatedly said he has asked for thousands of National Guard troops to guard the Capitol, but was overruled by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). There is no evidence for such a claim other than Trump’s words, and Pelosi’s office has said she does not have the authority to reject an offer of military aid.
“The Abolition Commission has now learned that I, as President, proposed and proposed that up to 20,000 National Guard or troops be stationed in the District of Columbia because it was believed that the crowd would be very large,” the former president wrote on his platform Truth Social on June 9th.
“Crazy Nancy Pelosi turned down the offer, she didn’t like the way it looked. Likewise, the mayor of DC, he continued. “If they had accepted the proposal, there would be no January 6th. The Unselects ruled that Pelosi was “banned, no questions asked.” The hearing is another political scam to counter inflation, etc.
Miller also denied claims by former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that 10,000 troops were on standby on January 6. Joshua Roberts/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images Trump said he had requested 20,000 National Guard troops, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected it. James Caveom
On the day of the riot, videos released by the special committee show Miller working closely with Vice President Mike Pence and congressional leaders to send forces to clear the Capitol of Trump supporters and secure the building.
“We’re not going to let these people stop us from getting our job done,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Miller on a conference call at 4:45 p.m. Jan. 6. “So we need you to get the building vacated, give us permission so we can get back in session and get people’s work done as soon as possible.
“Amen, sir,” replied Miller.
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