(Ken Silva, Headline USA) “There’s going to be a large amount of protesters here on the 6th, make sure that you have sufficient National Guard or soldiers to make sure it’s a safe event … I don’t care if you use Guard, or soldiers, active-duty soldiers, do whatever you have to do. Just make sure it’s safe.”
Those were the words then-President Donald Trump spoke on Jan. 3, 2021, according to Gen. Mark Milley, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
However, Trump’s remarks were hidden for nearly four years, and he was blamed by the Democrat-controlled Jan. 6 Commission—and much of the media—for the National Guard’s delayed response.
On Friday, the public finally had the chance to see what Trump told military officials, as recounted by Gen. Milley’s interview with the Defense Department’s Inspector General. That portion of Milley’s interview was hidden for nearly four years until the GOP-led House Administration Committee released it on Friday.
House Administration Chairman Barry Loudermilk, R-La., blasted Democrats and military officials for not disclosing Trump’s remarks earlier.
“President Trump met with senior Pentagon leaders and directed them to make sure any events on January 6, 2021 were safe. It is very concerning that these Senior Pentagon officials ignored President Trump’s guidance AND misled Congressional Leaders to believe they were doing their job, when they were not,” he said in a press release.
As has been widely documented, there was a roughly three-hour 19-minute delay from the time the National Guard was requested to deploy to the Capitol to when they arrived on Jan. 6. Military officials later admitted they thought a National Guard presence at the Capitol would be “bad optics,” which is why they delayed sending them.
Trump’s remarks mark the latest evidence that he wanted the Capitol secured ahead of the Jan. 6 protests.
In April, a transcript from the anti-Trump Jan. 6 Committee was released by House Republicans, showing that Trump demanded the National Guard deploy at least 10,000 men to the Capitol.
According to the transcript, Ornato recounted that former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows explicitly offered D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser the National Guard deployment.
“‘[Trump is] willing to ask for 10,000,’” Ornato informed the Jan. 6 Committee, quoting Meadows’s conversation with Bowser. However, Bowser declined the offer, insisting on deploying only a few hundred individuals.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
